Collide
by FeralShadowwolf
Summary: Starting from Bride/ Legion, Clark and Lois realise the depth of their feelings, and Clark realises why it can't work with Lana. As they get closer, Clark worries that Lois might be closer to uncovering his secret than he'd like.
1. Post Legion

Lois had been sitting with an unconscious and, until recently, badly bleeding Jimmy for hours, days possibly. She sat on a steel chair facing his bed and the window, with only the blossoms from the trees floating on the wind for company. Chloe's abduction, what happened to Jimmy, their wedding… Lois hated it, hated what it had become. A plateau of broken dreams and hearts. What she hated most thought was her selfishness, that in all the pain surrounding Jimmy and Chloe, she could feel her pain in the thud of each heartbeat.

She saw the way he looked at her; it wasn't in her head, Clark _was_ going to kiss her. _She_ was going to kiss _him_. But the moment, the _moment_, Lana walked through the door it was over. Did it ever really begin? She had thought so… she had hoped so. She understood what they meant to each other - who forgets their first love? But she hoped there might be a place for her in his heart, a bigger place. But apparently not… She could feel her heart sink… or was it her stomach? She hadn't eaten since God knows when.

Disturbing her thoughts, she heard footsteps coming down the previously deadly silent hall, and a soft murmur of voices… a nurse and… someone familiar. Turning towards the door, Clark entered, baring a friendly smile. "How's he doing?" Clark asked gently, as not to wake Jimmy or not to startle her she wasn't sure.

"Better." She nodded as optimistically as she could. She sniffled, "I mean, he's not walking out of here today, his wounds were … um, pretty serious." She struggled to get the words and smiled bravely, "But they put him on meds, so better I think."

Clark brought her close into a supportive hug, clutching her tightly. Lois tried, but she couldn't hold it in in front of Clark, he was the one she had permission to let her guard down for. She couldn't explain it, he just was. "It's just _so_ awful…" She pulled herself together and pulled away, putting the distance between them she wished wasn't there, but that time was passed. "Any news on Chloe?"

Clark nodded, smiling. "That's what I came here to tell you. She's ok Lois, she's resting at the Smallville Med Centre, they're keeping her overnight for observation."

Lois sighed, completely relieved and embraced him again, holding back her tears so fiercely, she could only manage, "Thank God."

"Yeah." He breathed in her ear. He felt a warm teardrop against his own cheek and held her tighter; he felt the same. Having Chloe back was what mattered, all his friends were safe. He pulled away, and sat them both down on the chairs next to Jimmy. Glancing at Jimmy and then back to Lois, he asked, "Do you need anything?"

At first she was going to reply with a witty retort, but was tired, she didn't want to play games, she just wanted sleep. "You always say that. You need to look after yourself too, Smallville. How else will you go about saving the day?"

Clark smiled for the first time in what felt like an eternity. He had the urge to wipe away the tears from her cheeks, to make her smile, but he couldn't. He wouldn't. Too many complications, it wouldn't be fair to her, or himself. "I don't think that's something we need to worry about. You, on the other hand…"

Lois looked to Jimmy, so white and frail, he could have lost so much… Tears welled up again, but she forced them down and looked to her hands. She didn't want him to protect her, she knew she had to protect herself. She let her guard down on this one she knew, and once again it was the wrong guy, but for a few seconds that night, she so hoped he was the right one.

"Hey." He soothed, kneeling down beside her so that she had to look down into his puppy brown eyes and gentle face. "It's going to be ok, Lois, this will all be fixed, you'll see."

She smiled thankfully and nodded. They held each others gaze for what seemed to be a few minutes, just like they had at the wedding, just before they almost… Lois shook her head and looked to the window. "So, er, is Chloe coming? To see Jimmy?"

For a moment she thought she saw disappointment in his eyes as he rose up, but quickly dismissed it. He answered, "She wanted to, would've broken out of the hospital if I hadn't told her I would physically restrain her there if I had to. She's coming tomorrow."

Lois stood up. "Good plan." She nodded. They stood in silence for a few seconds, avoiding eye contact.

"Look Smallville -"  
"Lois, I -" They started simultaneously, then smiled embarrassingly. "I just wanted to say - " Clarked started, but Lois cut him off.

"I know what you're going to say, I'll save you the embarrassment, wouldn't want your face to clash with your shirt." She quipped, trying to sound as neutral as possible. "I get it, don't worry Smallville, you and Lana make _so_ much more sense, and that stint at the wedding?" She smiled and rolled her eyes. "I think we'd both had a little too much champagne. Didn't mean a thing, right?"

Clark struggled for words before stuttering, "Right, champagne. Yeah, that must have been it." He averted his eyes, unable to form a smiled uncomfortably, her heart aching in her chest. "Well, I've been here way past my shower expiry date, so I think I'll head home." She nodded and walked past him through the door, unaware that Clark was watching her as she went down the hall.


	2. Bulletproof

Clark entered the same coffee shop he had for so many years and saw the woman he had loved for those same years at the till; it was almost as if they were 14 again and their lives hadn't become so complicated. The night was dark and the stars shone brightly, and the slither of the sun was quickly slipping into sleep until a new dawn began.

Lana turned to see Clark and smiled. "Clark, what a nice surprise."

Her eyes still had the same sparkle, her hair was still the same silky black and her smile still made him quiver, but something had changed. He didn't know what, but it he also knew it couldn't be undone, no matter how much he wished it could be. "Umm," He looked down, it hurt to look at her. "I need to talk to you."

"Uh-oh, that sounds ominous." She still smiled, as if it were a game. How could she know not to laugh now, of all times. He'd spent all day thinking, trying to come up with some sense, some way that no one would get hurt, that no one would have to suffer. He'd concluded that there wasn't one, that this was one of those things that he couldn't escape, he couldn't beat. In this matter, he was only human.

"See, the thing is…" He looked at her dead in the eye. "Lana, what are you still doing here?"

Her smile slowly faded from her face, grasping that this wasn't a joke. "It turns out leaving is harder than I thought it'd be."

He melted; inside he wanted to fold, to take the easy route into her arms, to pretend they really were 14 again, horseback riding through the fields. But that wasn't real, that wasn't now. In that moment, he realised what had changed. Why _didn't_ he just ask her to stay? Why _didn't_ he use his heart's memories to imagine a future for them? Why was it every time he closed his eyes he saw Lois, not Lana, no matter how much he wished he could? Because it was _him_ that had changed. When Lana left, Clark had become the man she always knew him to be, but a man that Lana never had the chance to meet.

"Lana, ever since you left, all I wanted was for you to come back, for things to go back to the way they were…" He paused, searching through his emotions for words to express how he felt. "But you leaving meant I could become who you wanted me to be, and I don't regret that because I'm doing what I should be doing now, I know that, I feel it every time I save someone."

"I know Clark, it's who you are. What is it you're trying to say?" Lana asked, genuinely concerned about where this was going.

"Lana, I'm not the man you knew." It was all he could say.

Lana looked to the floor, she suddenly saw what this was about. "And I'm not the Lana you knew."

Clark looked at her. "I love you, Lana." She looked up to him, tears forming her eyes as they had many times before. "But we're different people now. And no matter how hard we try to deny it or how much we want the past back, it can't be done." He broke eye-contact, "And I can't concentrate on moving on from you when you're here everyday, it's too hard. I'm sorry."

"Is it Lois?" Her head snapped up to meet his eyes. He flinched, just as she said "I'm sorry, that's not fair. It's none of my business." She took a breath. "I'll be gone soon, I promise. I just have a few loose ends to tie up here, and then I'll go."

Clark nodded. "Lana, just know that I will always be there for you, if you ever need anything…"

Lana nodded, only half certain. "I know." She planted a kiss on his cheek and whispered. "I love you too, Clark."

For the second time that day, he watched another woman he loved walk away.

* * *

**Well this is the first fanfic I've written in a few years and watching Smallville last night reignited my passion for it. I really hope you like these 2 chapters - more to come if you like them/ I get a chance to write them. I wanted to go into their relationship slowly and not jump them into bed because they're both in a delicate stage of realising they like each other.**

**PLEASE REVIEW =) You'll make my day xxx**


	3. Mondays

For most people, Mondays were the worst kind of evil; they meant saying goodbye to lazy mornings and laid back days and hello to alarm clocks and a day of work you hate. For Clark, the Daily Planet felt like some escape where the focus was off his life and onto the rest of the world's news. It also happened to be the place where he got to spend time with Lois; meaning time he'd spend being frustrated by her stubbornness and aggravated at her inflated ego. He breathed in the atmosphere and smiled.

However, as his gaze fell across Lois sitting at her desk and watched for a moment her hair fall across her face, Clark's mood twisted like the direction of a hurricane as it tore up the land, unpredictable and uncontrollable. Having had a sleepless night tossing and turning on how to phrase what he had to say perfectly, it all went out the window the moment he actually saw her.

Adjusting his tie, he headed towards her in the most nonchalant way he knew how. "Hey Lois." For a second, he thought the nerves in his voice would give him away, but as always, Lois remained unmoved.

Without taking her eyes off her monitor, she replied, "Morning Smallville." She typed one last letter and looked up at him. "Wow, get any sleep last night?" Having realised that she probably just walked into that one, she quickly added, "Actually, don't answer that. Really."

Lois suddenly felt very uncomfortable with Clark lingering over her desk, seemingly with something more to say. "Actually Lois, I need to talk to you about that..." _Bingo_. Lois logged off and stood up as casually as possible.

"You really don't Clark." She meant it to sound like she was too busy to listen, but it came out flat. She busied her hands fiddling with pens and notebooks and put them into her bag. "Besides, that's what you have Chloe for."

"Lois," He started; she headed for the lift with him following.

She spun round to face him suddenly. "Is Chloe out of the hospital now? I called her cell this morning but it wasn't on."

"She's with Jimmy." He answered, but she nodded briefly and then continued to the lift. Clark was getting frustrated that, as usual, Lois' 100mph attitude meant that anyone and everyone trying to get a word in couldn't. "Lois, would you hold on a minute? Where are you going, it's only 9am."

"Time waits for no man, Smallville, and time is money, a concept that only the best of reporters can grasp." She gave her pompous smile, thinking that insulting his glorified copy boy status might get him off her back. She entered the lift and turned to face him as the doors closed. No luck. Clark blocked the doors with his arm and jumped in beside her. "Clark!"

"Is it me or are you avoiding what I have to say?" Clark smiled arrogantly. "You're awfully jumpy this morning."

Lois looked at him incredulously as he crossed his arms and smiled to himself. "Excuse me Smallville, but as much as this will pain you to hear, not everything is about you."

"So, some things are?" He teased.

Lois cocked her head to the side and glared, "Apart from my copying needs, no."

Clark inwardly laughed as a comfortable silence settled between them. Clark, with renewed courage, began again while he had the rare opportunity of a quiet Lois. "Lois, I wanted to talk to you... well, Lana and I –"

The lift bell rung and the doors opened, relieving Lois so much that she hadn't realised that she was holding her breath. She stepped out, "Sorry Smallville, but I've got things to do – is it urgent?"

"Well, ur, not urgent, so much as –"

"Great, I can't wait to hear all about it later." Lois cut him off, smiled and walked away leaving Clark in the lift. The doors closed again, leading Clark back down to the basement. He should have known she would be stubborn, but something told him that Lois was a lot more determined to get out of talking to him than she would let him believe. Still, things needed to be said; next time he would have to make sure she couldn't escape.

* * *

Lois escaped the lift quickly, and from what she could tell, rather suavely. She couldn't have bared to have heard about whatever it was Clark was going to say if it involved Lana. He would probably end up telling her they got engaged or something, and without practising her reaction, she didn't trust herself. _I guess I did a better job convincing him he meant nothing more to me than I realised._

It was only by walking through the revolving doors of the Daily Planet that she realised the flaw in her Great Escape... she lied, she didn't have anywhere to go; fleeing was a panic reaction. So somehow, she had to waste a day avoiding Clark but come up with a story for him tomorrow convincing him that blowing him off was worth it. _Oh yeah, today's gonna be fun. I hate Mondays._

* * *

**Thank you for the lovely reviews, I'm glad you're enjoying it. Keep them coming!**

**Feral XXX**


	4. Clark, Ben and Jerry

"Hey Chloe, it's Lois. I still haven't heard from you, me being your beloved cousin and stuff, but I know you're at Jimmy's side, so you're forgiven. Anyway, I'm seeking solace at yours for a while. Hope you can come by, but I totally understand if you can't. Love you cuz, really glad you're both ok." Lois flipped the phone closed, and replayed the horrific content of her message through her mind. Chloe was going to know that something was wrong, and it wouldn't take a genius to figure out what it was about. Apparently everyone could see her thing for Clark – not that she had one – before her; she'd have to work on subtlety.

She chose the Talon to hide out for two reasons: Chloe's apartment was comforting and secondly, because it housed the state's reservation of Ben & Jerry's Cookie Dough ice cream. If there's one thing her break up with Oliver taught her it was that Ben & Jerry's really soften the blow of being utterly crushed. Not that she'd broken up with Clark, she just... Ah crap. _You've really walked into this one Lane_. Oh, and talking to herself had also become a side effect of being bitten by the love bug. _Why anyone enjoys this I'll never know._

She used the spare key under the mat and let herself in. On closing the door, she looked around. The place hadn't changed; to the casual observer, the occupants of this apartment looked like normal, loving newly-weds. To those who knew what happened, the place belonged to an unfortunate couple attacked by something monstrous on their wedding night. Chloe's make up was still left out on the table.

Dumping her bag down, she immediately headed for the freezer, got her litre and headed for the couch. Daytime TV sucked and she knew it; instead her mind started to drift to what Clark would be doing, before she shook her head, angry at herself for letting herself think of him, and forced her thoughts in other directions. The door clicked and for one irrational moment, she thought it might be Clark coming to find her, but then reality checked in and Chloe was helping a limping Jimmy through the door.

"Lois?" Chloe looked surprised to find her cousin in her apartment on a work day. You usually couldn't get her away from the Daily Planet.

Swallowing her last spoonful, she ran over to the door. "Chloe! Jimmy? Are you –"

"A little nauseous." He smiled half-heartedly.

"Lois, what are you doing here?" Chloe asked, as Lois helped Jimmy to the bedroom with her.

"Better yet, what's Jimmy doing out of the hospital? He doesn't look –" Jimmy glanced at her. "No offence."

"None taken." His hand was on his stomach , looking pale.

"The doctor said I could take him home," She stroked her hand across his forehead and looked into his eyes with such pure love, Lois couldn't help but smile. "He said he'd make house calls." Chloe looked back at Lois. "So, what_ are_ you doing here, not that it's not great to see you." She gave her a warm hug as she spoke.

"Well, I have been trying to call you –" Chloe looked confused and checked her phone, currently switched off, and immediately turned it on again.

"Oh wow, sorry Lo, I guess with everything..." She looked to Jimmy.

"It's ok." Lois smiled, putting a reassuring hand on Chloe's shoulder, and she smiled back thankfully. "You want a drink? Either of you?"

Chloe looked to Jimmy. "The doctor said only water for Jimmy, but I'd love a coffee." Chloe replied, heading to the kitchen with Lois following closely behind.

"I'll get them." Lois offered, as Chloe sat in the front room and noticed an inexplicable amount of Ben & Jerry's melted in a bowl.

"Er, Lois, what's with the Ben & Jerry's binge? Haven't seen anything like that since the icecaps started melting." She joked.

Lois' head popped out of the kitchen, slightly pink. "Oh that? It's nothing. Cravings, you know." She shrugged.

"At 11 in the morning?" Chloe asked sceptically, inspecting the ice cream closer.

"Yeah, well you know I can't resist Ben and Jerry, they're good to me." Lois said as she came in with the coffees. She peaked into the bedroom where Jimmy was fast asleep. "I don't think Jimmy will be wanting his water any time soon."

Lois sat beside Chloe on the sofa and re-examined her ice cream, fiddling with the spoon. "So, why aren't you at the Planet?" Chloe asked.

Lois shrugged and smiled. "Nothing to report, so nothing to do."

"Yeah, well where's Clark?" Chloe asked, as Lois gorged on a redeeming mouthful of ice cream; it was slightly more sickening that way.

"The Planet." Lois answered, trying to replace the emotion in her voice with the chewy sound of cookie dough. Chloe gave her a confused look, and Lois rolled her eyes. "A copy boy's work is never done."

"Lois." Chloe scolded.

"What? You shouldn't inflate Smallville's ego," And poked the ice cream like a surgeon would dissect an alien as she murmured, "Wouldn't want his stupid head to get any bigger."

"Lois," Chloe started, either ignoring her last comment or not hearing it. "Did something happen with you and Clark?" Lois took another mouthful and felt the cold scoops dripping down her throat, and avoided Chloe's gaze. _No nothing happened! And it's not going to, no matter what, cos it's over, Smallville is nothing to me other than a big farm boy plaid wearing oaf._ Seeing Lois wouldn't be divulging anything, she grimaced at Lois' choice of food. "That can't be nice."

"What? Sure it is." Lois reassured her, playing with the lumps unconvincingly.

Chloe sighed. "Lois," Lois looked at her cousin in the eye. "What's going on?"

"Nothing." She shrugged again, looking down into her bowl.

"No? Then why is it you eat _that_ every time I mention Clark's name?" Chloe smirked.

As if by reflex, Lois did it again, paused with her mouth full and dribbled, "Do not."

Lois quickly moved off into the kitchen with bowl in her hands and Chloe on her heels. "Lois!"

Lois turned smiling, "Look, I know what you're going to say, so you might as well save it. Thinking that Smallville and I..." She looked down and shrugged. "I must have been temporarily insane. I mean the plaid for one thing would drive any girl crazy. I actually feel sorry for Lana." She nodded unconvincingly.

"I thought that... Jimmy said you two looked good together at the wedding." Chloe said affectionately.

"Me and Smallville?" She asked incredulously. "Jimmy should get his eyes checked."

"Lois," Chloe took a step toward her and looked her in the eye, close enough to see that Lois was feeling vulnerable at the moment, and really did want help, but was too stubborn to ask for it. "I can't speak for Clark, but from what Jimmy and I have been seeing from _both_ of you over the last few weeks... I don't think it's just you who has these feelings."

Lois genuinely looked sad for a second, before she recovered her defensive stance. "Yeah, well, not with Lana still here." She moved off into the front room to hide her transparent disappointment.

Chloe followed her in. "Lois, you don't know how he feels. You need to talk to him."

"Chloe, come on, it's Lana and Clark, she's the love of his life, I was just... Let's just say that 'Lois and Clark' doesn't quite have the same ring to it." Lois said, smiling bravely as if nothing was really wrong.

"Lois, I didn't know you felt so –" Chloe stopped, her hands flying around her pocket and reached her buzzing phone, seeing 'Clark' flash across the screen.

Lois knew this from Chloe's glance to her. "I'm not here." She waved her hands.

Confused, Chloe answered the phone. "Hey Clark." All Lois could here were murmurings. "Right now? I'm kinda... well... I'm at home, maybe you could come here?"

"No!" Lois whimpered, she instantly worried if it was too loud.

"What? No, Lois isn't here?" Chloe laughed nervously as Lois sank into a cushion. "That was... that stray cat that's been hanging around... Yeah... Umm, I don't think that's what..." Chloe looked at Lois thoughtfully, about what Lois was unsure. "Fine. Just give me a few minutes." Chloe hung up the phone.

"What was that? Inviting him round?" Lois asked disbelievingly.

Chloe gave a faint smile. "Sorry Lo, I slipped up. Listen, I said that I would... go and meet Clark. I'm really sorry." Chloe grabbed her coat and bag. "Watch over Jimmy would you."

"Yeah, sure." Lois answered dismissively, clearly she was peeved. Little did Lois know that a surprise was coming her way in the form of that plaid wearing farm boy in a matter of minutes, and with Chloe cleared out of the way and Jimmy unconscious, who knows what could happen?


	5. Beginning of a Legend

As Chloe walked out of her front door, she seriously wondered whether she'd just done the right thing: leaving her broken husband in there where an emotional bust-up was about to take place between two people, one of whom had super-strength and the other had super-stubbornness. She didn't have much time to think about it though because as she put her keys in her bag a gust of wind blew the hair into her face and Clark appeared.

"Is she in there?" Clark asked without even a greeting.

"No, she left in the 30 seconds between the call and you showing up." Chloe responded sarcastically.

Clark relaxed his shoulders and smiled nervously. "I'm sorry Chloe, it's just this has been on my mind all morning. Actually, for a few days now..." Chloe looked inquisitively, and Clark explained. "I broke up with Lana."

Chloe's mouth fell into an 'O', and pulled Clark away from the front door so as Lois not to hear. "But..." Chloe looked as though she was struggling over what to ask first, but then it came to her. "Was it for Lois?"

Clark looked thoughtful for a second. "I thought it was for many different reasons, but the longer Lana was here, the more I realised that I don't need her to be. Seeing Lois everyday... I don't know what I'm doing here Chloe." Clark looked a little lost and frightened, like after spending his life knowing he only wanted one thing, he suddenly grew up to realise that there was someone else he needed more.

"Well, you better figure it out." Chloe smiled reassuringly, "Because Lois is right behind that door." Clark used his x-ray vision to peer into the apartment and saw Lois pacing up and down the living room, looking stressed and a little upset. Chloe noticed that he was using his abilities, and smirked "You better not be looking where I think you're looking!"

Clark snapped out of it, and gave Chloe only a warning glance mixed with uncertainty. "Chloe, how do I do this? I mean Lois is... she's not exactly..."

Chloe smiled. "She's Lois. And she's just as afraid of this as you are. You just have to be honest with each other."

Clark nodded, took a deep breath and stood in front of the door. Allowing Chloe to make her getaway, Clark opened the door to find that Lois had disappeared.

After a second, Lois came in from the bedroom, smiling, "What did you for –" It was Clark. How did he? Damn Chloe. "Clark, hi." She smiled sheepishly. "Uh, Chloe said she was meeting you somewhere, not here."

"Yeah, um, change of plans." Clark replied steadily, suddenly remembering to close the doors. "So, you're working on a big story then?"

Lois looked around, hoping there would be a prop or something she could use that vaguely looked like she was working. There wasn't. "I am. I was... lunch break." She smiled guiltily.

Clark nodded dissuaded, but let it go. He looked around the place. "It hasn't changed much since before the wedding."

"No..." Lois agreed, feeling like they hadn't seen each other in years when it had been a few hours, and having no idea what to say to each other. "Uh, so I could call Chlo for you, see where she headed, she can't be far, you just missed her." Lois picked up the phone and started dialling.

"That won't be necessary." Clark smiled. "If you must know, I came... for you." He looked up at her, she flinched at his eye-contact but convinced herself it wasn't meant how it sounded.

"Yeah, well I could come and work at the office I guess, I'm just using the internet here really, if you're missing me that much." She half-joked, and hoped deep down for a serious response, but shook it away.

"Lois, I'm not here for work, I'm here because I need to talk to you about me and Lana." He replied slowly, as if uncertain.

"Oh." Lois' face fell. "Well, Smallville, I'm sure it's nothing you can't sort out. You know, I've just remembered, I parked my car in a red zone, I'll get a ticket if I don't –" She babbled as she walked past him to the door, but was stopped short by him taking her arm, in just the same way as he did take her to the dance floor at the wedding. It was that powerful, take control attitude that made her melt then, and now. Clark just looked at her softly, as if he was in pain just as she was, but she knew it to be a trick of the light. "Clark," She whispered, her face close to his, her eyes looking into his, "Please don't." She smiled bravely, but her look pleaded with him to leave her be.

Clark released her arm gently, and she headed for the door slowly. Lois wanted him to stop her so desperately, not to let her to walk out of the room. "Lois."

"Yes." She spun round, playing with her cuticles.

"The thing I need to tell you – " Clark started.

"You don't _need _to tell me Clark. I don't need to know everything about your love life, just as you don't have the privilege of knowing about all of mine." Lois pointed out defensively. "Like for instance, you don't need to know that I have a date tonight." She lied. Saving face was all Lois ever knew what to do to save her from emotional peril; always be on the offensive was what the General taught her.

Clark cleared his throat and looked surprised. "You do?"

"Don't look so surprised, Smallville, some men actually find me attractive." Lois countered; catching him off-guard like that meant she was winning.

"Right, no I didn't mean, I mean of course they do. You're beautiful..." He smiled sincerely before adding, "In your own way."

Lois gave him a lop-sided glare; they were being normal again, they were disliking each other, this Lois could handle and gave her temporary happiness and relief. "Don't lie Smallville, I've seen you looking." She smiled seductively as she walked past him to the door, "Well I better get going, don't wanna keep Davis waiting."

"Davis? Davis Bloom?" Clark almost shouting, before regaining his temperament. "The guy that liked Chloe?"

Lois blinked. "Yeah, we got talking before the wedding, he asked me out, what could I say?" She shrugged. She knew that may have been a little cruel, having said she'd secured a date before the wedding really meant that what happened between them really didn't mean anything. She saw Clark shift uncomfortably.

"Oh right, before the wedding..." He repeated, and forced a smile. "Well that's great."

"Yeah," Lois smiled. "You've got Lana, I'm beginning my career as a serial dater, Jimmy and Chloe, everyone's happy."

Clark held his tongue, suddenly he couldn't say it. He couldn't tell her he broke up with Lana, and he couldn't tell her why. She'd obviously moved on, if she'd ever been in the same place as him. The situation had changed. What had he been thinking anyway, him and Lois? Could there ever have been a more destructive force? "Yeah, right." He smiled as believably as he could. "Have fun."

Lois nodded and walked out of the door, closing it behind her and resting on the door. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, she did the right thing, right? She saved herself embarrassment, barely, and everything's worked out fine. Everyone was with the person they should be with. Lois would just have to find a way beyond this; she wasn't really serious about serial dating. Alone had always been better. Except... she thought Clark might have been more than this. She had hoped this would work out, she'd only had that feeling about one or two other guys in her life. She shouldn't have lied about dating Davis... But this was foreign territory for Lois. It usually ended up that the guy would chase her, but Clark... He was shy at times, and reserved, and held his cards close to his chest when it concerned his friends and more-than-friends.

Just as Lois sighed a big disappointed sigh, but phone began to buzz, she got it out. Clark. She bit her lip, asked herself what she was doing, and answered, "Hello?"

"Lois... I need to talk to you. I've been trying to do it all day, but you've been so..." He sighed in frustration. "I broke up with Lana." Silence, complete and utter silence. "Lois?"

On the phone and in Lois' head, she was paralysed. "Broke up? As in..." Lois turned around and turned the knob of the door to reveal Clark standing there with the phone attached to her ear in the same way hers was to her ear. "Broke up?"

Clark smiled, looked at his phone and hung up. He just realised that she hadn't left, she couldn't of. He wouldn't of, and it took him a few seconds to realise that he wasn't going to let her walk away like that.

Lois, still a little dumbstruck, but finding the connection between her brain and mouth once more, said, "Uh, why? I mean you guys were perfect for each other."

"Yeah," Clark smiled again, taking a step towards her. "We _were_. We're different people now Lois, Lana and I aren't right for each other anymore. "

"Oh..." Was all Lois could come up with, she had had daydreams about this that once awakened from she would mentally kick herself for. Now it was happening, she couldn't react. "I, um, you know it happens." She nodded and took the first step of closing the door. Inhaling deeply, she admitted, "While we're confessing things, I wasn't exactly telling the truth earlier. I'm not dating, anyone, I don't know why I said that." She smiled, her cheeks going a pink they hadn't gone before.

Clark nodded. This awkward silence was getting to him, and her as well. Lois realised that they couldn't resolve this, this talking wasn't going anywhere. Clark didn't break up with Lana for her, and he knew that, he was just feeling lonely, and she had to stop pretending. "Look Clark, I will admit that something is happening here, but I don't think it is what you think it is. I know, you must be feeling lonely right now, and with the holidays coming up... I get it, but –"

Clark's eye's flared, of all the arrogant, pompous women... Everything he wanted to say, everything that he felt toward her blurted out in an angry slur of words. "Lois, you are the most stubborn, pig headed, annoying woman I think I have ever met. You think that's what's going on here? That I don't know what I'm feeling? You drive me completely insane, you're messy, insulting, arrogant –"

"Hey! You're not all that either Smallville! You've got this all American mommy's boy image with your unfailing morals and this misguided belief that you can save everybody you meet from any evil out there, you correct me whenever you can, and make my life miserable – "

"At least I can spell!" Clark taunted childishly. He shook his head, and murmured, "This isn't why I came here."

"Well, then since it's truth time, why did you come here Clark?" Lois shrugged her shoulders. She was tired of this fighting, this confusing upsetting relationship where nothing ever changed; it was now that all her thoughts of Clark compiled into this one moment, from the moment she met him to right now.

Clark just looked at her. "Because I lied to you. I lied when I said that there was nothing between us at the wedding." She stood there, it was all she could do. Suddenly the space between them seemed so far apart, Clark stepped towards her, and clasped her hands in his. "I don't know where that leaves you, but I think what I'm trying to say is..." He looked around until his eyes settled on Chloe's stereo player and walked over to switch it on. "Will you finish that dance with me?"

Lois' mouth curved into a smile; the same smile he saw when he dreamt, the smile that had slowly but surely crept into his subconscious, his thoughts and feelings. Clark slowly moved into sync with her, swaying to Dishwalla's _Collide_ as her head rested on his chest and he inhaled her perfumed scent. For a moment, Lois thought this unreal, that he was playing some cruel prank on her, but she knew that he was not capable for that kind of evil; she knew that of all the men in her life, Clark was the good one, the honest one, the one who had never let her down and would never let her get hurt. She could feel his chest rise and fall with his breathing and closed her eyes, caught up in the bliss of the moment.

She moved off him to look into his eyes, to search for anything that would let her see what he was thinking. He smiled at her, for her, and it was infectious. "Clark,"

"Suits me better than Smallville doesn't it?" He laughed nervously.

She smiled back, "I just wanted you to know, it meant something to me too."

"I know." Clark smiled, and dipped his head in slowly, uncertainly, as she reached up to him. She didn't know what this would mean, where it would lead, neither did he. But something in their guts told them it was important, possibly life-changing, and they wouldn't miss it for the world.

* * *

**Ok, what do you think? Believable? Better than the writer's botched up job of Lana/ Clark reunited? Worse? **

**Please I'd love the reviews. I could take this further, or should I leave it, as it?**

**Thanks, Feral XXX**


	6. Burning Love

Chloe fiddled with her keys as she approached the Talon. Haven spent a few hours working at the Isis Foundation, her mind kept wandering to what happened with Lois and Clark, and how her broken husband was doing being part of it, so she decided that after a few hours, it was probably safe to go home. Two things could have come out of her fix-up: they killed each other, or perhaps more optimistically, they got together. Chloe smiled at the prospect of her wayward cousin and best friend finding love and hurried up the stairs, not sure what she would find.

She opened the front door and stared into an empty apartment. The good news was that the ice cream was gone, the bad news was so was Clark and Lois. "Hello?"

"Chloe?" A voice shouted from the bedroom. "Is that you?"

Chloe walked into the bedroom to find her husband lying helplessly on the bed, just as she'd left him. "Hi you." She walked over and lay down beside him on the bed.

"Hi you? Chloe you left me with Lois and Clark! I had to listen to all of it." Jimmy stated, a look of awkwardness spread over his face.

"All of what?" Chloe asked suspiciously, her mind refused to imagine what Lois would do, but she thought Clark had a bit more reservation.

"All the yelling and then the making up, the private words that outside parties shouldn't listen in on..." He looked to Chloe who looked almost relieved. "That's not what I meant Chloe, they didn't..." He looked awkwardly. "They left about a half hour ago, I don't think Lois wanted to leave me alone, so they watched some TV."

"And you were awake for everything?" Chloe asked, snuggling up to him, hoping that he was the source for her gossip.

"Well I woke up hearing Clark shouting at Lois for being stubborn or something, and then made it to the end when they finished the dance they started at our wedding and –" Jimmy was cut off by the gigantic smile spreading over her face, and the 'Aww' with which it accompanied. Jimmy joked, "It saddens me that this is more exciting to you than our own wedding."

Chloe gave him a lop-sided grin. "Nothing was more... eventful, than our wedding, how about that?" She laughed, and squeezed him into a hug until Jimmy winced. "Oh God Jimmy, I'm so sorry. Are you ok?"

Jimmy's wince broke into a smile. "As long as you keep hugging me that hard when we're old and grey, I'll be perfect." He smiled sincerely, "Bruises heal."

Chloe looked at the purple yellow bruise seeping out beyond his bandages. "I could make them heal a whole lot faster Jimmy, all you have to do is ask." Chloe held her hand out over his bruises.

Jimmy took her hand away from his body and kissed the back of her hand. "I wouldn't. This is my pain Chloe, I don't want you to experience it." He smiled gently at her, this was one of many things she loved about Jimmy. "Besides, this way you're waiting on me. I like it that way."

Chloe laughed. "Oh yeah, well don't get used to it." She leant down and kissed his soft lips, the same kiss she hoped she'd experience for the rest of her life. She was safe, and her husband was safe, that was enough for her. Jimmy was her happiness, and nothing could ever take that away from her.

* * *

The rest of the day passed slowly for Lois. She returned to the Daily Planet, to her desk, and Smallville – Clark – said he needed to go and take care of some things on the farm. After their revelation at Chloe's, and their first kiss, they'd snuggled up on the sofa watching the best of Jerry Springer and ridiculing the guests. She'd always hated Jerry Springer, and when the hour was up, Clark revealed he did too, which begged the question of why they'd been watching it for an hour. They joked about it, a comfortable, playful discussion, and she privately concluded that they watched it because it was on, and it didn't matter what they watched, as long as it was together. They finally decided to leave, knowing Chloe would be back soon and she checked on a continually unconscious Jimmy before leaving.

Her mind kept replaying the kiss; his breath was warm against her cheeks, her nerves reverberated against his, and she could feel her heartbeat rise with every inch closer they got. He held her hand by his side, his other hand rested on the small of her back, and though the music kept playing, it felt like the whole world went away as he leaned down and softly brushed her lips with his, and then –

"Lane!" Tess Mercy shouted from the stairs, making her jump three inches out of her seat. Regaining her focus to the stairs where the red-head stood, she gave her a bewildered look. "There's a fire spreading on 45th Street, I want you on it. Now!"

"Right!" She shouted, Lois jumped up out of her seat and grabbed her pencils and bag and, in an agitated fashion, headed for the stairs as Tess busied herself with her daily checking up on the basement staff. In a way, this was the best possible thing that could happen to Lois right now, a distraction, a way to make the day pass in a productive manner. Lois Lane didn't drool on some guy when there's serious reporting to do; ok, so a fire wasn't that exciting, but it's not like she was ever going to get a Pulitzer, it was just something to focus on that wasn't tall, handsome and incredibly well-built.

Calling a taxi from outside the Planet, Lois could already see the smoke from the streets ahead, and it looked like the fire was spreading rapidly. How that was she didn't know, it's not like the buildings were made of hay anymore, there were safety precautions against this. As the taxi accelerated, then braked, then accelerated again, it became clear to Lois that it would take her at least 20 minutes to get there when by running it would only take 8.

Lois weighed her options and then her mind was made up to run, as three ambulances and two squad cars overtook her and everyone else on the road. She paid the driver and let herself out, breaking into a run on the sidewalk and realising high heels were not the smartest option for this kind of activity. Nevertheless, as she ran, the sirens got louder which she interpreted to mean that she was getting closer, and it seemed she was right because as she turned the corner the caught sight of the flames flickering out of at least three building windows: a bakery, a bank and a family home.

Catching her breath, Lois bent down and looked up again to assess the situation. Twelve fire-fighters stood with two hoses aimed at the outside buildings to prevent the fire from spreading any further, and the police had formed a ring around the fire-fighters work to stop the gathering crowd from interfering.

Lois, being the intrepid reporter she was, forced her way to the front of the crowd to be directly in front of a bearded policeman, who lookied severely stressed. "Lois Lane of the Daily Planet," She introduced and flashed her press pass, "Do you know what caused the fire?"

"No press, ma'am." The policeman replied, looking worried as the flames flickered closer to them. It seemed that the fire-fighters were losing the battle with the fire, and Lois could feel the warmth on her face.

"Ma'am? What do I look like to you?" Lois retorted, then checked her attitude and put on the sweetest smile she could manage, it had worked with stiffs like this before and she hoped it would work now. "I mean, a brave guy like you, I bet you were the first on the scene."

"Look ma'am, as I've said, no press allowed, now let us do our jobs." The policeman was clearly not backing down, and neither would Lois, she would just go in with a different strategy. She smiled and backed off to the back of the crowd where she could regroup. Glancing around, a family of three, mother father and daughter were standing by an ambulance, being examined with a rigour the paramedics only asserted when something was serious. The mother was unconscious, the father badly burnt and inhaling oxygen, and the daughter looked so lost and frightened, that it made Lois go over to her.

"Hi, are you ok?" Lois knelt down to talk to her, but her estimation, this little girl was about eight years old.

She coughed, and nodded. "Is that your mommy and daddy?" Lois indicated behind the girl to the ambulance, and the girl nodded silently again. "Well, don't worry, they'll be just fine." Lois pushed the instinct to divulge information from the girl into the back of her mind; Lois knew the difference between a source and a human being.

"Please," Her voice was hoarse and high-pitched. "Help my brother."

Lois looked around the ambulance. "Ok, where is he?"

The little girl did nothing but look behind Lois and point to the house that was rapidly burning down, the door was in flames as they spoke. Lois looked back seriously to the girl and grabbed her shoulders , "Is your brother still in there?"

The girl nodded and began to whimper. Lois immediately stood up and ran back through the crowd to the same policeman, and in all the ruckus and noise, she kept shouting, "There's still someone in there! A little boy!" She kept shouting at him, trying the policeman beside him, but either no one heard or no one was listening to her.

Lois stood back from the crowd and looked up to the building as the roof caved in. "Oh my God," Lois breathed. As she glanced up towards the top of the house, she saw him. Between the dark grey smoke and the flames, peeking out from the edge of the window, she saw a little boy, couldn't be more than 6 years old, looking down at her frozen with fear.

Immediately, Lois looked about the house. The front door was burning, the fire-fighters were still trying to get the fire under control and she couldn't see anyone else to help her in time. Lois went round the side of the house, took a deep breath covering her mouth with her sleeve and punched in the side window. She could hear the policemen shouting at her, trying to run after her, but not managing to. She climbed through the window and saw the flames licking around the side of the door, and the smoke was heavy, thicker than she'd like. As she swung the door open, it fell off its hinges and she was faced with a staircase that would collapse any minute.

"Hello? Can you hear me?" She screamed and couldn't help but cough out the poisoning air. With no response, she climbed the stairs quickly, holding onto the banister for support. She made it to the top floor, the floor itself was burning from the flames downstairs, she could feel it through her shoes. "Hello?" She shouted again. "I'm coming!"

This time she heard a whimper, it wasn't loud, but it was enough. It came from the second room on the left; it was further away from the staircase than she would of liked, but then again she didn't like anything about this. "I'm coming," She repeated. "Just don't move." Taking each step carefully, she rounded the corner to see a blonde little boy curled up on the floor crying by the window. Lois coughed, she couldn't help it, it was so hard to breathe... Suddenly a flashback from the fire drills at school came back to her, she got down on her hands and knees where the air was lighter, only just, and crawled to the boy, holding out her hand. "Take my hand," He hesitated. "Come on, kid, we gotta get out of here."

He took her hand, and with him beside her they crawled out of the room. It was getting hotter, and Lois had to take off her jacket, exposing her flesh to the flames. The problem came with the stairs, she knew they couldn't crawl down them. Lois took in as much of a breath as she dare as the boy whispered, "Can't breathe..." And his eyes glazed over before they closed.

"No, kid, come on, not now." Lois almost begged, as the boy slowed to a stop and then a collapse. She tried picking him up, putting him on her back as she tried to stand up, but the air was thick and her lungs felt heavy. She stood, holding the boy in her arms, and attempted to get down the stairs but as soon as she took the first step, the foundations of the stairs collapsed and the wood holding them up had burned into ash. Lois held back a panicked whimper; but even she couldn't deny that this wasn't looking good. She returned back to the room, but the flames were growing around her up to her knees. Back at the window, Lois put the boy down and started screaming as loudly as she could, "Help! Can somebody help us! Please, there's a boy..." The window was locked shut and she knew she couldn't punch in double glazed windows. Lois tried to get the fire-fighters' attention, the police, even the crowd, but no one could hear her. Her voice sounder hoarse, her breathing was slowly and her eyes were feeling heavy. Lois collapsed beside the boy, her legs giving way. She faced the door, and as she drifted off, she felt a cool breeze and for a second, just a second, she thought she saw Clark's terrified look and his strong arms around her body, and then the world went black.

* * *

**Thank you so much for the reviews - they inspire me to get another chapter up asap. Keep 'em coming, and thanks for the suggestions! I'll try to work them in.**

**Feral XXX**


	7. Saving Lives and Finding Excuses

The first thing she could feel was cold air pumping into her lungs, then the light came and a dark shadow directly in front of her. Lois' eyes slowly opened to see Clark's face smiling down on her. Moving the oxygen mask out of her face, she whispered, "Clark?"

"Lois." Clark smiled, relief flooded through him, he couldn't bear to see her looking so pale. Lois looked around, she was lying in an ambulance with Clark crouched beside her. He took her hand in his and scooted a little closer to her. "How are you feeling?"

Lois put her free hand to her aching head as she slowly sat up. "Umm... how long was I out?"

"About 20 minutes." Clark replied, smiling. He should have known that a collapsing building on fire wouldn't keep Lois Lane down for too long.

"And the little boy?" She asked, her head still fuzzy.

"He's just fine thanks to you." Clark said, "Another ambulance took him to the hospital to be with his family."

Lois lay back down, relieved, and took a second to remind herself not to get weirded out that her hand was in Clark's, that they shared a closeness they otherwise would have ignored; it made Lois smile and squeeze his hand. "Wow, that was pretty close..." Lois reflected. "I don't even know... how _did _we get out of there?"

"The fire-fighters were breaking through when they saw you go in and got you and the boy, they said you'd both passed out." Clark lied as smoothly as he could, he thought he was pretty believable considering he'd had years of practise at lying to those he loved. "What were you thinking, Lois? You could have been killed."

Lois shrugged at the accusation, her eyes closed as she relaxed into the hard bed. "The boy needed help."

"And a trained professional couldn't have done that?" Clark asked, his anger just barely visible. Lois smiled, she couldn't help enjoying the new Clark who would admit how he was feeling, it was a nice reprieve. "Lois you can't just go running into trouble."

"Hey! I resent that, I do not go looking for trouble. It has a habit of finding me." Lois quipped. She looked at him in, what Clark viewed as, a strange angle. "You were in the building."

Clark forced a look of surprise, "What?" He laughed uncomfortably; she had passed out, she couldn't have seen him.

"Yeah..." Lois searched her memory. "Just as I passed out, I saw you looking down at me, and then I felt your arms around me... and then... I don't remember, I must have blacked out."

"That's one imagination you've got, Lois, you should write novels not articles." Clark kept smiling, he had to convince her that she was hallucinating or something. "Or children's books." Lois glared at him defiantly. Clark decided to try a different tact. "So, you could say I was your white knight, your hero perhaps, who would launch himself into a burning building to save the damsel in distress?"

Lois thought about this for a moment. "You're right, it's crazy." Clark inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. "Besides, I am_ not_ a damsel." Lois swung her legs off the bed, taking the mask off from around her neck. "Anyway, let's get outta here."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Clark asked, standing up and trying his hardest not to manhandle her; he knew that even if they were more-than-friends she didn't appreciate being made to feel helpless.

"No, but I'm doing it anyway." Lois replied.

"Yeah, and that attitude almost got you killed in a fire." Clark said under his breath, but just so Lois could still hear him.

She fiddled with the wires surrounding the medical bed, and added, "Don't mutter Smallville, it's not attractive on you." She smiled in the arrogant manner she always did when she got the best of him; just because they were together did not mean that that was going to change. "Besides, I've got a story to write." She walked past him and jumped out of the van, thanking the doctor and began to walk off with Clark close behind. The fire had been contained and all that remained of it was the ash floating on the air, and the last specks of smoke in her lungs.

"Uh Lois, you're going back to the Planet to write this story? Doesn't it hit a little close to home?" Clark asked. How this woman had the afternoon she had and still have the motivation to put it in tomorrow's edition he would never know; that was part of Lois' charm, her never-failing ambition to get every story and divulge every last detail from it.

"Of course Smallville, a good reporter really gets into her stories... I just happened to get a little too involved in this one, but it's still the story Tess wanted me to write, so I'm writing it." Lois replied, smiling at herself.

Clark nodded, he knew by now that it was best not to question Lois, only correct/ annoy her when he could. Clark looked around at the people on the street, sitting out having coffees. "Lois, did you have lunch?"

"Nope." Lois answered, continuing on her walk and not picking up the hint.

"Would you like some?" Clark spelled out, smiling at her inability to focus on anything other than the headline for her breaking story.

"Oh...er," Lois stopped and checked her watch, it was late afternoon and she probably wouldn't get a chance for dinner with the deadline. "Sure, but you're paying."

"Of course." Clark smiled as gratefully as he could in a jokeful way. "There's a place just up here."

Lois and Clark continued to walk down the street, seemingly out of topics of conversation, until a thought struck Lois which made her tilt her head to the side. "Close to home..." Lois repeated Clark's words to herself, and then turned to him, "Clark, you said you were in Smallville."

"I was." Clark smiled, confused by her almost urgent realisation. "I was actually born there." He joked.

Lois shook her head. "No, I mean, you went home."

"And?" Clark nodded his head at her, hoping for more of a hint of what she was asking him.

"And it would've taken you hours to get to Metropolis, let alone figure out where I was and get there." Lois pieced together. "I got there around 2.30, and woke up with you beside me at 3.15." She checked her watch to confirm the time.

Clark panicked, he needed an excuse fast. Somehow he didn't think that convincing her that he super-sped his way from Smallville because Chloe called to tell him about the fire, and then could hear her shouting for help from 12 blocks away, to not be burnt by the flames would be taken all that well. As well as lying to her about it all. Not a great way to start a relationship. He shifted uncomfortably, and Lois could see he was struggling with something to say. "Well, you know there wasn't much traffic coming in..."

"Even so, it would still take like 2 hours to get here." Lois countered. "What did you fly in?" She joked.

"Not exactly," Clark winced. Usually Clark would save the day and then disappear to avoid raising suspicion, but he couldn't leave Lois unconscious and badly breathing. On the other hand, he would have to deal with her overly inquisitive nature until she either had the truth or a lie she could believe. "Oh look, here we are." Clark pointed to the cafe he was talking about. They sat by an outside table, Clark pulling Lois' chair out for her. For a misguided second, he hoped the lure of food would make her forget about her interrogation.

"So what then, Clark? Did you stay in Metropolis?" Lois enquired, leaning in over the table. She was confused on why he lied; she concluded that he was either lying now, or he was before, she had just always thought Clark was the type never to lie. He wasn't exactly a closed book, she doubted whether there was anything about Clark Kent she didn't know.

"You're not going to drop this are you?" Clark smiled, and sighed. Her resolve answered that question for him. "Ok, I did stay in Metropolis. Chloe needed me to help her at the Isis Foundation, she called me as I was leaving for Smallville."

Lois pulled a confused face. "So... why didn't you just say that? Jeez, you had me thinking you had robbed a bank or something, Smallville." She joked and turned to her menu, but couldn't shake the nagging feeling that he was hiding something from her, but tried to ignore it.

"I like to see you squirm." Clark teased, and laughed when she gave him an evil stare.

"Well that would be difficult without eyes." She threatened. Clark relaxed his shoulders, he was in the clear again, Lois was off his track. Something told him though that he would have to be extra careful in the future, as Lois was likely to be much more inquisitive than Lana ever was.

Lois looked at him, her body shifted uncomfortably. There was something Lois had been meaning to discuss with him, something she didn't really want to tell him and worried about where it might leave them. "Look, Clark, there's something I need to tell you. I –"

Clark had been listening intently, too intently, as his ears twitched and he had to turn from her to hear what was happening outside their conversation more closely. Although his hearing was super-human, it usually had its limitations; but right then, it honed into a catastrophe on the other side on the country. Hundreds of people were crying out for help, the land was shifting in some way; buildings were falling and people were in trouble... He zoned back into his conversation with Lois.

"And so, I know it might be – " Lois had continued, but he didn't have an idea what she'd said; he could only think about the disaster in San Francisco.

Interrupting her, he stood up abruptly, "Uh, Lois, I'm really sorry I forgot I have... a dentist appointment, and they charge you if you don't give 24 hours notice." He rambled and ran off before she could answer, though he heard her yelling after him, he didn't have time. This was the man he was, with a higher responsibility than she could ever know, and Lois would have to understand that.

* * *

Lois sat there for a few minutes, dumbstruck at what just happened. _Clark Kent_ blew her off. She couldn't believe it, she had to keep repeating it to herself. _Smallville blew _me_ off._ She watched him disappear down the street and turn a corner, and then she was alone. She had been trying to tell him something serious, something about their relationship, and he just completely bailed, out of nowhere. Maybe he wasn't as comfortable with her as she thought he was. Lois was past the point of self-pity though, she was just angry; no, more than that she was pissed off. He maybe could have stuck around to listen to the last of what she had to say after almost burning to death in a building, but no. She gathered her coat and bag and headed back to the Daily Planet, fuming at the prospect of seeing him again today. She actually didn't know what she would do. It was between killing him and... no, that was pretty much the only option.

As Lois walked past a stereo store, a crowd had gathered outside the window. Lois' intuitive nose made her peer through the crowd to see that they were watching a live news feed of an earthquake in San Francisco. The presenter was saying that it appeared out of nowhere, there were cracks in the roads causing major road accidents, particularly along the Golden Gate Bridge where it was most dangerous. Lois realised that to truly assess what was going on she would have to get back to the Planet and fast; this would be the kind of front page news that the Planet would be issuing tomorrow, and she couldn't miss it. Just as she left the store, she was swept back into looking at the screen when what she could only call a freak gust of wind blew a school bus balancing on the edge of the bridge back onto the road. At this, Lois ran even faster back to the Planet.

* * *

**Intrigued? Liking the plot twists? Getting the parallels with Dean Cain's series? Teehee, I couldn't resist. Tell me what you think, and feel free to throw in your own suggestions, I'm here to please.**

**Feral xxx**


	8. Blur

At the Daily Planet, the usual bustle of reporters and photographers were surrounding the TV, watching for more updates on the earthquake in San Francisco. Lois hurried to join them and listened in.

"Although the quake is now over, lasting approximately 30 seconds, the damage is still causing havoc in some parts..." The screen flicked over to live footage of homes in half along one street and completely destroyed on the other side, with a large crack in the middle of the main road. Women were crying with their husbands or sons holding onto them, unsure whether their relatives were even alive; it made Lois quiver. "And yet, due to some unknown anomaly, many lives have been saved due to freak gusts of wind, hotspots occurring in strange places, namely _inside_ structures where they _seem _to have welded back together. It's very strange, wouldn't you say Bob..." Lois tuned out as they began their unneeded analysis on a situation they couldn't help.

"Lois!" One of her colleagues, and probable admirers, shouted to her across the room, and walked over to her. Lois wasn't a fan of this guy, Rick, who wore tweed – worse than plaid – had elbow patches, slicked back greasy hair and a moustache you only see in pirate movies. But usually he wasn't a bad source of information, she could usually get anything out of him, which was useful in the newspaper business. "Crazy, isn't it? Apparently it just came out of nowhere, no readings or anything."

"Yeah, it is..." Lois nodded, more engaged in her own thought process than Rick's small talk. "Do you know if Tess is sending anyone over for post-earthquake coverage?"

Rick shook his head. "Not that I know of, I think the San Fran branch are on it, if their building stands. Besides, she'd only send the Floor 1 reporters, this is a much bigger story than the basement." He guffawed.

"Right." Lois replied dryly; if there was one thing she hated, it was people who underestimated her. That and people who disappeared in the middle of what was supposed to be a real conversation. But that was for another time. "Rick, what about these random occurrences? People's lives being saved by freak gusts of wind? Doesn't seem likely."

"Well, actually, there's a theory that the Red-Blue Blur might be involved." Rick hushed his voice, as if his existence was a big secret, or taboo, in an international newspaper company; never mind that they'd published stories about him.

Lois smiled. "And whose theory is that? Unless it's a photo, you can't catch him on video camera." Rick smiled self-satisfactorily, as if he knew something she didn't. "What have you got?"

"Well, gee, I don't know Lois," He smiled slyly. "How about we discuss it over dinner?"

It took every inch of self-control to avoid the up-chuck reflex she was feeling. "How about you tell me and I won't tell Tammy, your wife, that you're a slimy gross little man and convince her she could do better?"

Rick considered this for a moment, then gave up. "Fine. Follow me." She followed him into his office, a tiny little cubicle that for all intents and purposes should have been a janitor's closet. He leaned over his computer and double clicked on a folder. A video started playing of the early footage of the earthquake in high-def and in slow-motion. Lois waited, she thought she knew what they were waiting for. "As you know the earthquake was 30 seconds long, now this school bus," He pointed to the screen, she'd seen this footage earlier. The bus hung of the Golden Gate Bridge. "Is half on and half off..."

"Yeah..." Lois nodded, waiting for him to continue, but he didn't. Instead he stared intently at the screen, so she did the same.

"There!" He yelled.

"There, what?" Lois asked, unimpressed. She saw nothing other than the bus being swung back onto the bridge.

"The Red-Blue Blur!" Rick explained. He rewound the footage and slowed it even more, frame by frame. This time Lois did see something, a blur of colours, she thought it could have been a colourful bird or something, and she would have thought that, were it not for her belief in the crazy things that could happen, having seen most of it first-hand. Lois inched closer to the screen, as Rick froze the image. "See! To the untrained eye, no one would think anything of it, but to us, who've seen this guy in action... it's him." He nodded, conclusively.

"Is there any more footage of him in other places round the city?" Lois asked.

"Well, this is the first video I've looked at, I'd have to check." Rick answered. "I've been recording the news feed."

Lois nodded. "Great, can you have it sent to my computer. I want to look at this." Rick looked like he was about to argue, but Lois smiled convincingly, "Be a team player, Rick, remember there's no 'I' in team, and maybe I'll take you to the top with me." His ego couldn't refuse that, so he agreed as she left his cubicle.

While that was sending, Lois had an errand to run. _Visiting Chloe, eh? Why don't I believe him?_

* * *

Lois walked through the doors of the Talon, feeling only semi-confident that going behind Clark's back to ask his best friend whether he was lying was a good thing. Lois took a deep breath and began to climb the stairs to her cousin's and her new husband's apartment; Lois knew that this wasn't the best way to start off a relationship, but she'd been through enough liars that right now, even Clark was beginning to look suspicious. Lois always thought she knew the good guys from the bad, but she'd been proven wrong on more than one occasion; she knew Clark was a good one, a really good one, but in her gut, he'd lied to her earlier, and her gut was often smarter than her heart or head.

"Lois?" Lois spun round on the stairs, almost falling and losing a heel. Behind the counter she saw the one person she wanted to see least.

"Hi Lana." Lois smiled. She weighed her options between running up the stairs as quickly as possible, or doing the awkward thing and descend the stairs and start a conversation. She chose the latter, much to her annoyance. "I thought you left." Lana replied with a blank look, and Lois checked herself. "I mean, hi, how are you?"

Lana smiled. "It's ok Lois, Chloe told me." Lois remained silent, feeling incredibly awkward. "About you and Clark."

"Oh..." Lois walked down the stairs, hanging onto the banister. "That."

"Really, I'm happy for you two." Lana smiled, Lois knew she could hide a lie well behind a smile, she just never knew how well. Lois could see the hesitation behind Lana's sentence. She looked to the cloth in her hand and then back to Lois from behind the counter. "It ended a long time ago, it's just that neither of us wanted to admit it."

Lois smiled sympathetically. She really didn't want to ask, and she knew she shouldn't, but in that moment, Lois realised that Lana was the perfect person to help her understand Clark. She'd been with him on and off for seven years, there must have been a reason that had such a rocky relationship, and she was beginning to think it was more Clark's fault than hers. "Lana, I know we've never been close, and I don't know how to ask you this..."

Lana waited expectantly for her request. Lois looked incredibly uncomfortable, and shifted from side to side. "It's just that, you were with Clark for so long, and he has this thing... you must have noticed..." Lois inhaled sharply. "Clark just disappeared earlier, something about a dentist, and I think he lied to me about being in Metropolis, but how else could he have super-sped through the traffic from Smallville, and..." Lois looked up to face a lost Lana. "And I'm rambling," She smiled, completely embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I should go."

She turned to leave quickly and with as little more embarrassment as possible; what was she thinking, asking Lana about her newly ex-boyfriend who is now dating her best friend's cousin.

Lana, on the other hand, panicked. Lana had had this conversation with herself so many times before she found out his secret; she hoped Lois would have taken a little longer before coining on to Clark's alter ego, but as far as she could tell, Lois hadn't uncovered it yet, and wouldn't if she had anything to say about it. "Lois."

Lois turned slowly this time, feeling uncertain. Lana walked towards her this time, supposedly confidently. "I know what you mean. When I was with Clark, there was nothing more annoying for me than for Clark to disappear every time we were about to have a conversation."

Lois smiled, relieved. "So it's not just me..." She then looked puzzled. "Any theories on why he does it? He doesn't seem like the non-committing type."

Lana nodded her head side to side. "Lois, I know what you're thinking, but if there's one thing Clark Kent is not, it's a liar. And whatever the reason for him running away from time to time, it never had anything to do with us. If there's one thing I've learnt, it's that there are some things he needs to do that we might never understand."

Lois looked suddenly dejected. "Lana, how did you handle it? I mean his disappearing all the time, almost in a flash, and not getting an explanation? I couldn't handle that, I'm too... I'm the type of person that needs to know things. Is that so bad?"

Lana smiled, shaking her head. "No, I completely understand. It hurt me too, that he couldn't trust me with the truth, still can't..." Lana lied, faking a look of remorse. "But Lois, everything I went through with Clark, all the lies and secrets, disappearances, I don't regret it, because for everything I went through with him, it's all totally worth it. There will never be a man more deserving of your love than Clark Kent."

Lois looked at her, hoping for a look of sarcasm or falsity. There was none. She was telling the truth, and that's what Lois feared. Lois always knew that Smallville was different from all the rest, but to hear Lana saying that for all the heartbreak she went through, and the heartbreak Lois would probably go through with the same guy, that Clark was worth it anyway, that scared Lois.

Lois nodded, uncertainly. "I want him to be that guy," Lois smiled, feeling her guard come down around her. "But I need him to be the guy I can count on too."

Lana took her hand. "He is, always has been. There is nothing more important to Clark than his friends, and he would do _anything_ to protect them. Trust me." Lana said it so forcefully, that she had to believe her, it was like she had the inside track which led her to believe what she said with every fibre of her being.

"Thanks Lana. And I'm sorry, I know this must have been..." Lois nodded, she didn't have to say it. She backed away to the door, and turned again to face Lana. "Don't be a stranger, ok?"

Lana smiled and nodded and watched as Lois left. It didn't matter what she said, Lana couldn't stay, wouldn't stay. Everything she'd been doing for the last 7 months had come to nothing, it was all for Clark and now he had Lois in his life. She couldn't hang around and watch that, all she could do was accept and move on. Besides, she knew Lois was the type of woman that could handle Clark's secret, but if he wasn't careful, she would figure it out long before he would tell her, if ever – it took him 6 years before Lana found out. It seemed like with Lois was going to be more like 6 days.

* * *

**Hey, thanks for the reviews - sorry it's been such a while for the update, but I'm working on another chapter as we speak, it's very eventful. =)  
Stay tuned.**

**Feral XXX**


	9. Restless Nights

After her talk with Lana the evening before, and having picked up the least nutritious and cheapest thing available – otherwise known as a Big Mac – Lois had retired to the Daily Planet once more. Work kept her mind occupied, let her focus on other things while what Lana said truly sunk in. Of course, her chat with Lana ended around 7.30pm and Lois guessed it was around 2am that she had passed out on her keyboard, uncovering the mystery of why she awoke glued to her desk.

Lois checked her watch. It was 7.51 Tuesday morning, and had risen before the die-hard reporters would arrive at 8am. That would give her 9 minutes to clean herself up. She headed for the ladies' toilets in a hazy fashion. Having spent all of the evening and night alone watching clips from the earthquake, Lois found herself in desperate need of a long bath and an even longer sleep in a bed made of linen and feathers, not wood and computers.

However, she did find that Rick's theory was right. She found what she could only call 'light' evidence of the Red-Blue Blur's involvement in the earthquake around some homes collapsing and in the buildings that supposedly welded themselves back together after breaking apart. It seemed the mystery of the Red-Blue Blur was unfolding, as they could now determine that he had some kind of heat power as well as super-speed.

As Lois looked at herself in the bathroom mirror, she could only groan. Her hair was out of place, her make-up smudged and her suit creased, and still smelt slightly of smoke from the building; a memory she could barely recollect after everything else that happened yesterday. She stroked her hair back into a pony-tail which took care of most of the damage and reapplied her make up as well as she could.

Lois strolled back to her desk and began packing up her things and stuffing them into her bag, she downloaded the footage from the earthquake onto her memory stick for her laptop at home, let it load and then switched off the monitor. She strolled out of the Daily Planet and headed for home, hoping that her bath would afford her at least 15 minutes of release from Clark, earthquakes and Red-Blue Blur mysteries.

* * *

Chloe had walked to the grocery store with the same enthusiasm she did for any task her new husband asked her to run; seeing him almost broken, knowing that he could have died... She didn't blame Clark, she blamed herself. Chloe knew that the Kryptonian mega-monster picked her out because she was Brainiac's host, and deep down, she knew it wasn't personal, but it still happened to her. It happened to Jimmy, and she couldn't help feeling partially responsible for her husband ending up in a hospital bed on their wedding night. Consequentially, Chloe dealt with her imagined or real guilt by doing everything and anything he asked of her, and did them happily.

The late morning was a bright one, almost abnormally so, and gave Chloe a warm feeling inside her, like something good was about to happen, as if she was close to the happy ending she wanted but it was more like a new beginning. She'd had an uncomfortable night tossing and turning, feeling a little light headed, and sipping her morning coffee along with a much needed lie-in, she felt much better and alert. As she walked along her familiar Smallville street, her cell phone started buzzing in her purse. She stopped to pick it up, and once more 'Clark' flashed on the screen; she smiled to herself, if there was ever anyone Clark really needed, she knew it was her, and she hoped that would never change.

"Good morning, Clark." Chloe smiled and continued her morning walk to the store.

"Hi, Chloe. Where are you?" Clark asked, and Chloe knew what was coming.

"On my way to the Grocery store, in fact... I'm there. Don't worry, it's pretty quiet." Chloe added, she knew subtly was his best friend when the occasion called for it.

"Ok." Just as he said the second syllable, she felt a gust of wind and there he stood in red and blue beside her, ending the call on his phone. He smiled sheepishly; Chloe couldn't help but smile, that would never get old for her.

Clark gave her a hug. "So how's Jimmy?" They broke apart.

"He's doing better." She said optimistically. "He gets out of bed when the need for food calls," She grinned, "Thus the need for restocking." Clark nodded, glad that his friend was recovering quickly. Chloe turned to begin her shopping ritual, and lowered her voice as she said, "So, am I to assume that you were responsible for the miraculous life saving activities in San Fran yesterday?"

Clark glanced around like a nervous rabbit waiting to see if there was a wolf on the other side of the hedge, luckily his super-hearing afforded him the luxury of being comfortable that no one was around to hear Chloe. He followed her down the aisles, "Yeah, I contained most of the damage. I did what I could."

Chloe turned to face him and smiled, "That's great Clark, I'm really proud of you. It's almost like you were built for this." She teased.

"Yeah, _almost_." Clark replied dryly, and Chloe could sense that something was up and looked inquisitive until Clark responded. "I went to the Daily Planet this morning, and one of the guys told me that he thought the Red-Blue Blur was involved and then mentioned that Lois showed a lot of interest. She took the video footage home, and I don't know..."

"Ah. Right." Chloe nodded, slightly worried herself. Once Lois found a story, her claws rarely came out. "But Clark, you're way too fast, even if the cameras caught the Red-Blue Blur, that's all it is – a blur. There's no proof, let alone anything connecting you to it."

"But Chloe, just the fact that reporters are looking for the Red-Blue Blur when anything like this happens is bad enough, Lois is smart, she's not going to believe I go to the dentist every day of the week." Clark pointed out.

Chloe pulled a face. "Clark. Wait, you told Lois that you went to the dentist? Very convincing Clark." She said sarcastically. "No wonder she didn't believe you."

"It was an emergency and all I could think of – wait, what? How do you know she didn't believe me?" Clark grabbed her shoulder and turned her round. "Did she say something to you?"

Chloe smiled weakly, "Well, and don't freak out, but, Lana came up last night just as she was leaving and said that Lois stopped by and they had a... chat." Chloe smiled. "Lana seems to think that Lois... well, she just said that you might think about either lying a lot more convincingly or coming clean. Lois knows you're not being truthful with her. You're gonna have to talk to her."

Clark turned in frustration. "And what? Tell her my secret?"

"Maybe. You know she could handle it, Clark." Chloe reassured him.

"Chloe, I'm not even sure what Lois and I are yet, let alone tell her my secret. Give me some time to figure that out and then maybe I'll think about it." Clark sighed. He wished he didn't have to enter a relationship lying, he wished he could tell Lois, he just feared that she wouldn't want to be with him knowing his secret. Clark couldn't deal with Lois not being in his life, he needed her there.

"You might have no choice. Clark, you're not dealing with Lana anymore, Lois has an inquisitive mind, you know that, and you know her. If you don't tell her, she'll find out." Chloe warned. She readjusted the strap of her bag on her shoulder and turned, feeling suddenly ill. She took a step forward, clutching her stomach.

"Chloe? Are you alright?" Clark asked, noticing her suddenly pale complexion. Chloe grabbed his arm and then headed for the store's bathroom, leaving Clark in the lurch. He shouted in a few times, but she kept telling him not to come in, that she was fine, all the while throwing up profusely. After a few minutes, she exited the bathroom, looking gauntly at Clark.

"Chloe, were you just –" Clark asked worriedly.

"Yeah... I think I have a bug." Chloe smiled weakly. "It pays not to spend all your days and nights in a hospital, you tend to catch things from other patients."

Clark winced. "It might be an aftershock from being Brainiac's host, Chloe, maybe we should take you to a doctor."

"No Clark, I'm sure it's fine –" Chloe started, smiling from embarrassment.

"Chloe, please." Clark's eyes pleaded with his words. "I wouldn't want anything more to happen to you."

Chloe nodded, deep down she was worried as well. For everything she'd been through with Clark, her health had always been the one to take the hit, and with her happy ending feeling so close, she didn't want to take any chances. "Ok, I'll call Jimmy and tell him I'll be a while longer. I don't want him to worry."

* * *

Lois was at home, lying in her bathtub and surrounded by steaming hot water and a tranquil set of candles. She wasn't usually a candle-in-the-bath girl, but if anyone needed to be calm and relaxed right now, it was her. However, as hard as Lois tried she couldn't get calm, or tranquil. She was barely getting passed comfortable. _I guess I just wasn't built for baths. _She'd been in for maybe 10 minutes and already felt frustrated at the lack of space and the thought of stewing in her own filth. The apartment was quiet enough, Chloe was out and Jimmy was asleep – again – meaning she could have had a nice morning. She rolled her eyes at the unlikely prospect and gave up, having washed her hair and body, she found there was nothing else she could do in there, nothing productive. Standing and grabbing the towel, she struggled out of the tub and drained the water.

She closed all relevant doors and dried her hair as quietly as she could, knowing that one day she was going to have to get her own place and stop hogging the newly-weds' space. The only alternative was Clark's house, and that wasn't going to happen again, not since they were... whatever they were. It occurred to her that she hadn't seen Clark since their non-lunch yesterday, and also that she was still peeved at him. He never even called to apologise. She shook her head in anger; if she'd known that being with Clark Kent was this frustrating she never would have thought about it in the first place. Not that she'd ever had a choice, like she said to Oliver, it just snuck up on her. She smiled at the thought of Oliver, he genuinely was a great friend that night, and she always knew him to be a decent guy. Looking back, she realised that if he were the right guy the superhero thing wouldn't have bothered her, she would have loved him no matter what. She concluded that that meant it really wasn't meant to be, and something else was awaiting her. Whether that was Clark or not she had no idea, she could only go on what she felt; a warm, happy sensation whenever he smiled at her, a looked-after comfortable feeling when she was in his arms...

Brushing the last of her hair, she threw on her work clothes. She had to go to the Planet, she knew she needed the income, as small as it was. She had actually done the fire article last night and emailed it to Tess to make the morning edition; she knew it was no competition for the earthquake as page one material, but she liked to think it would be somewhere before page four. Of course it was written by a person surviving on caffeine around midnight, which may have detracted its value slightly; Lois was never a great speller even on a well-rested day. _Thank God for spell-check._

She grabbed a pop-tart from the kitchen for breakfast and grabbed her laptop filled with images from the earthquake involving the Red-Blue Blur. She found the guy intriguing; he didn't want fame or credit, his only motivation seemed to be to help people. And she had to admit, the crime rate had dropped slightly – only slightly – since his appearance, and Lois had nothing against criminals getting their comeuppance, or good decent people surviving potentially fatal incidents. She only wished she could see his face. In none of the photos or freeze frames could his hair colour be seen let alone his face. She could only imagine what he looked like; dark, tall and handsome was her usual preference, or blonde if it really suited.

She sat down in front of her laptop, accidently hitting the play button with her coffee mug, losing the freeze frame image. "Dammit!" It had taken her ages to carefully freeze the images at the exact right time to see the blur. She paused the footage in its new position, double checking the keypad to make sure she hadn't spilled anything. She hit the save button, deciding to start again with that video at work, and was about to turn off her monitor when something struck her attention. She leaned into the laptop and didn't take her eyes off the screen. The new frozen image was of one of the neighbourhoods especially damaged by the quake; there was the picture of the house which would in the next frame almost collapse before the Red-Blue Blur would be almost seen; there was the crack in the road, the families from the surrounding houses crying out in panic as they looked on, and a small crowd forming to watch the scene unfold. Lois double clicked to enlarge, but there was only so much zooming she could do from a helicopter's shoddy video angle. She zoomed in until the pictures became fuzzy and the crowd was focused on about five individuals. Lois winced and tilted her head to the side, slowly edging closer to the screen. A figure was behind the crowd of four, only its head poked out, hard to tell the gender, but it looked male, and what's more it looked a lot like, from her angle, like... "_Smallville?_"

* * *

**Hey, sorry it's been so long since an update. You know, easter holidays are a distraction. Anyhoo, hope you enjoyed this one.**

**Feral XXX**


	10. Compromises

_Smallville?_ Lois repeated to herself, unable to tear her eyes away from the image in front of her. Lois blinked, breaking her concentration and searched the image for Clark's familiar face. _There_ – the picture was unbelievably bad quality and could really only see a dark head of hair and a dark coloured jacket, but the resemblance... Lois inched her face closer to the screen, as if that would help, but it only made the image worse. Lois straightened up and shook her head. _It couldn't be Smallville, he was here when the quake took place, I saw him. _"You're losing it, Lane." She muttered to herself. _Of course that's not Clark_. Clearly her coffee and sleep deprived state left her seeing the people she wanted to see... and yet she couldn't switch off the monitor. She was about to peer into the abyss of the fuzzy man's face once more when her cell phone made her jump out of her skin. Flicking it open, it was Chloe. "Hey Chlo, look I'm glad you called, I'm looking at something here I think you need to – "  
"Lois," Chloe sniffled.  
Lois could hear something was seriously wrong. "Chloe – what's wrong?"  
"It's..." She sniffled once again, tears falling onto the phone. "It's Jimmy. He collapsed at home, while I was out. He was on the floor."  
"Oh my god Chloe, is he..." Lois held her breath. _Not now, not to Chloe_, she prayed.  
"He's – we're – back at the hospital. The Doctors are saying he's stable for now, but Lo..."  
The uncertainty and fear permeated in Chloe's voice, and coupled with the heaves of deep breathes, Lois knew what she needed to do. "I'll be there in 20 minutes Chlo, just hold on."  
Lois was just about to hang up, when Chloe added, "No, Lois, it's fine," She nodded as vehemently as she could manage to convince mostly herself. "That's not... I just – could you tell Clark. After Jimmy's family and... well, I'm sick of telling people."  
Lois nodded. "I get it, totally. Just be with your man." She ended the call and switched off the monitor without even thinking, worrying about her cousin's husband, her cousin, trying not to think about the worst.

Chloe stood outside her husband's hospital room, taking a moment to breathe, reliving all her worries and fears. The doctors say he exasperated himself too much at home. She had concluded he was trying to get up from the bed that morning and collapsed instead. Chloe held back tears, trying to stay brave before entering in, maintaining a positive countenance. She sat in the chair beside him, holding his hand as delicately as she could, fearing that she might break him just by touching him in his fragile state. "Jimmy..." She breathed.  
His eyes fluttered, at first while they were closed and then opened and settled on her face still stained with tears. "Hi." He smiled, and she had to laugh at his persistent good mood, even during times like this. He took a moment to look around. "What happened?"  
"You collapsed." Her gaze unfailing.  
Jimmy head relaxed back into the pillow, and smiled sheepishly. "Oh, sorry."  
Chloe smiled and hung her head in his arm. Still the same Jimmy; that he could make her smile through all of it, through everything, made her love him so much more. "You've got to stop doing this to me." Chloe paused, and looked him dead in the eye. "I mean it."  
"Sorry, I guess it stops being funny after the first time." He said lightly, brushing the hair from her face.  
Chloe sighed a sigh of relief. As she looked into her husband's eyes, she realised there were so many things to be afraid of in the world, most of them were things that Kryptonian superheroes could probably deal with and most definitely protect her from. Other things, such as losing the ones we love and watching them get hurt were things not even the invincible Clark Kent could protect anyone from, and in that instant, she felt incredibly scared.

As Lois left the Talon, getting the car keys out of her bag, her train of thought was completely interrupted by the appearance of Clark Kent standing by the door, and looking like he'd been meandering there for a while. They stood there staring at each other for a few seconds.  
"At least tell me that coffee's for me?" Lois said dryly.  
Clark looked at the cup in his hand and smiled sheepishly, handing it over to her. "Just as you like it." She took it from him and kept his distance. "Look Lois, I'm sorry about the other day. I'm a little forgetful sometimes, I just remember there are things I should be doing."  
"Yeah, totally." Lois nodded, remembering Lana's advice and to not take it personally. "It's just at the time I was trying to tell you..." Lois shook her head, disbelievingly at herself. "Speaking of, Chloe asked me to tell you that she's at the hospital with Jimmy. He collapsed, but she thinks he'll be fine." Lois reassured him, noting the worried expression on his face. Sometimes it seemed like Clark had a history of hearing bad news about his friends, she knew growing up in Smallville must have been a strange and unusual childhood. _Explains his behaviour_, she smirked to herself.  
"Right, ok. Does she need –"  
"She's got it." Lois finished for him. They both relaxed into silence for a few seconds, he looking at her and she looking at the gum stuck to the pavement. She looked up and him and smiled nonchalantly, preparing to get stuck in. "So I better get going to the Planet, thanks for the coffee." She started past him, and realised they had somehow transported back in time and the one moment where they were actually honest with each other had dissipated back into the abyss it came from.  
"Lois." She stopped and without turning around, drew in a deep breath. She felt him come closer to her, she felt him standing right behind her and his hand on her shoulder.  
She turned slowly, looking up into his eyes, absorbing his smile, nervous to move. No man had ever had an effect on her like Clark Kent; she tolerated, maybe even liked, things in him she couldn't stand in any one of her exes, and what scared her was what that meant. She gently placed her hand on his strong chest as he moved his warm hand to her cheek, and she relaxed against his hand, closing her eyes and feeling his sincerity, his love, against her skin. Clark smiled watching her being so vulnerable with him, so trusting when he knew she didn't let her guard down easily.  
"I would never hurt you Lois." He promised her.  
"As if you could." She lightly joked, but she knew, she _knew _that she could very easily get hurt here, and yet every cell in her body propelled her forward to him. He smiled as he leaned slowly down towards her lips, and she felt the world around her fall away as his arms enclosed around her body like a shield. Just before he kissed her, she pulled back slightly, "Don't think this means you can ditch me whenever you want, because I won't always end up like putty in –" Clark leaned in more sure of himself and swiftly this time, meeting her lips with his, realising that there was nothing or no one else in the world that he needed more than Lois. Stubborn, insulting, strong, confident and beautiful Lois Lane. He gently pulled away. "Your hand." Lois finished, taking a moment to breath and process. She looked up into his eyes once more, smiling like what she was sure was a complete idiot and not caring in the least with him grinning back at her. "Small_ville_," She purred, putting her arms around his neck. "This side of you I could get used to."  
Clark's smile drifted away as quickly as it had appeared. Suddenly it seemed as if he were somewhere else, as his eyes darted about the place and fell from her grasp. Lois did a double take and released her arms to her sides. "Clark? Did I –"  
Clark's attention focused back to her as he grasped her hands in his and, with urgency, he reiterated, "Lois, no, that wasn't... That wasn't about you, it's just... there are things I have to... I have to go."  
Lois almost laughed, she had to because he was joking. She searched his face for any kind of humour, any laughter lines peaking out. She found none; he was serious. "You have to go? Just like that?" She slipped out of his hands and took a few paces back. "Right now. You have to go."  
Clark's desperation not to lose her , not to lose her trust he had worked so hard to earn made her say something he never considered he'd say. "Lois, there are responsibilities I have. I want to tell you something, but I can't do it right now. I _have_ to go. The way I feel about you has –"  
Lois nodded, clearly hurt. She made her feelings for him perfectly clear, and now, for the second time, he was running away. "Clark!" She said almost angrily, stopping him from saying anything more. She shook her head, suddenly uncomfortable and uncertain, "This was a mistake." She whispered to herself, and turned, running to her car.  
"Lois!" Clark called after her, but Lois chose not to hear him, not to listen. _This was a mistake,_ she repeated to herself. She opened the car door and closed it, looking back to where the man she kissed was no longer standing.

Starting the ignition, she could only imagine what Clark had to do that was so important. He didn't leave an explanation and clearly it was more important to him than her, which was usually not acceptable in the world of dating Lois Lane. Except Clark was never _usual,_ he always had this air of mystery she knew a farm boy shouldn't have. As Lois was driving down the open road, it never occurred to her that she was the only car on the road, or that she was going fifteen over the speed limit, only that she couldn't keep thinking of Clark. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and almost laughed in despair; in that second without concentration, the lorry coming towards her swerved out on her side of the road. Out of the corner of her eye, Lois only had time to scream and swerve before the truck would hit her. She closed her eyes out of instinct and waited for the impact yet to come – she heard the crash but couldn't feel it, and slowly opened her eyes. Her car was straddling the road and stopped dead in front of a tree. Releasing her breath, she tightened her grip on the steering wheel and looked around at the industrial estates in front of her. She opened the door to see the truck on the other side of the road lingering above the ground, with only a pair of boots showing underneath. _The Blur. _Lois caught her breath. She watched as the driver struggled out of the ditch he fell in while the Blur held the truck. She was so close. _If I just go round the other side, I could see his face_. She inched closer and started round the truck slowly. The driver, meanwhile, immediately passed out once he was out of danger's way. The lorry slowly sunk back onto the ground, and the boots were gone.  
"It's you, isn't it?" She said lamely, of course it was him. Who else could bench-press a truck? She heard feet shuffling about the concrete road. "Please! Don't go." Lois held out her hand. "Thank you." She breathed. "You're always there when it matters." She could see the tip of his shoes under the lorry, he was waiting, but for what. "Can't I ever see you? You can trust me, you know you can."

_I know I can trust you,_ Clark thought. _But the time isn't right now. I want to tell you so much, more than anyone.  
_"No headlines, I promise." And Clark smiled to himself, knowing that was a large sacrifice on her part. Clark looked at the crushed lorry in front of him. He knew he couldn't speak to her, she knew him too well. He had an idea. Using his heat vision he imparted a symbol onto the side of the lorry, and super-sped off before anyone else noticed.

Lois knew he was waiting, but she didn't know for what. She thought he might want to tell her something, but why this long pause? She heard a searing sound and then a wisp of wind told her that he had gone once again from her life. She ran round the driver, hearing his soft breathing, and stood on the side the Blur had stood on, looking up at the lorry. She smiled at the promise written on the side of that lorry; it was a promise that he could trust her, and a promise that she was never forgotten about by him. "Soon."

* * *

**Hey guys, sorry it's been so long. I think I needed the new season to start so I could get my creative juices flowing - its a good season so far, no?**

**I hope u'll like this next instalment - any preferences/ suggestions as how Lois should find out? We know it has to happen.**

**Thanks - Feral xxx**


	11. Confessions

_Soon? Soon? How soon is soon? I hate that._ Lois had the same thoughts revolving round her mind. At first she was excited and happy, then she had become impatient and annoyed at the cryptic nature of the message.

After dealing with car tow people, then insurance people, then the police, Lois couldn't wait to be behind her desk and have a normal day as possible at the Planet.

_Ok, this is not a big deal._ Clark nodded to himself. _I'll just say it: Lois, I'm the Blur. I've wanted to tell you for ages, but I..._Clark had been sitting at his desk in his work clothes ever since Lois' almost car-crash about half an hour ago, obsessing on his decision to tell Lois. Well, it wasn't so much a decision as a rash impulse made into a promise on the side of a truck. He didn't know why he promised something to Lois that he wasn't sure he could deliver, but he had this feeling that it was a now-or-never situation. As he was mumbling to himself, Lois caught his eye descending the steps of the basement floor, the sun catching in her hair, the glint of determinism in her eyes. He basked in her presence until her eyes fell upon him. _I'm the Blur_, he thought confidently. He knew she could handle it, this was, after all, Lois Lane.

"Hey Lois." Clark smiled.

"Uh huh." Lois sighed, sitting opposite him and not looking happy either. Clark remembered that despite their last conversation – however one-sided it was – was positive, whereas from Lois' perspective, they had had a fight. "So how was the dentist? Or was it the doctor's this time?" She said with a look that could frighten a mouse back into its hiding place.

"About that... Lois, I need to talk to you." Clark took a deep breath. "But not here." He stood up, expecting her to follow.

She kept flipping through her mail, absentmindedly she said, "I'm sorry Smallville, I've got a dentist appointment to go to right now." She looked up at him and smiled sarcastically.

Clark tightened his jaw. "Lois..." He smiled to himself and changed his tact, he knew how to bait her. "Fine, I was just going to offer a peace offering in the shape of a front page headline, but I'm sure I can handle it." Clark smirked and walked off in the direction he hoped she'd follow him in.

Lois cocked her head in curiosity, and turned as he walked away. "Yeah right, like you could hear anything before me?"

"I have impressive hearing Lois." He smiled knowingly and kept walking.

Lois sat there for a second and nodded her head, angry at herself for following him to the Store Room. "This better be good, Smallville." She muttered as he closed the door behind her. It was small in there, and intimate. _You're angry at him, you're angry at him,_ she repeated to herself, willing it to be true. They stood within inches of each other, but still felt like they had their space. "So what's the story? And why are we in _here_?"

_I'm the Blur. I'm the Blur._ "Well, Lois, it's about me – "

"No offence Smallville, but your life does not scream front page unless incredibly bad timing for taking off is headline news." Lois retorted, wishing she didn't sound as bitter as she felt.

Clark scoffed, "See Lois, this is exactly your problem. You don't let anyone finish a sentence around here, it pays to listen to other people every once and a while you know. And it's not like I chose to leave you like that –"

"Yes it is! It's exactly like that – was there a strong gust of wind blowing you away? No. You said you had to go." She took a breath while he stayed silent. She couldn't look at him as she added, "Do you know how hard it is for me to open up to someone like that?"

Silence. Utter silence. They both looked at each other intensely, passionately. "Yes. Which is why I want to tell you... When I leave without a trace, it's because of who I am, who I'm trying to be..." He struggled with the words.

Lois took his hand. "Clark, if there's something you're not telling me, something you want to tell me, just be honest." Lois smiled. "If the Blur thinks it's safe to trust me, surely you know it to."

Clark's head snapped up. "What?"

Lois grinned, "I'm just saying he's a pretty good judge of character. And you are too."

"Oh." Clark smiled, for a second he thought she beat him to the punch. "And the Blur means a lot to you."

"He means a lot to everyone, Clark. He's the Blur." She smiled, with a tone of awe in her voice. "Better than any of us, that's for sure."

"Right." Clark nodded. He couldn't do it. God he wanted to, but he couldn't tell her that her perfect, flawless superhero was imperfect mild-mannered Clark Kent. The Blur was something the people needed to believe in, to tear away the veil from Lois, from anyone... she needed to believe in something bigger than herself, who was he to take that away from her? "Right."

"Clark, there was actually something I wanted to talk to you about as well." She took a breath, "I don't know why I kept this from you for so long, but... I was offered a job in the New York branch, and they've asked me to do a six-month assignment in Iraq."

"What?" Clark said out of reflex. "Where did that... But you love the Planet."

"I'll still be at the Planet," She smiled softly, "Just not this one."

"Lois, that's..." Clark breathed, of all the ways he thought this conversation was going to end up, this was not one of them. "Are you going to take it?"

Lois shook her head, "I'm not sure yet. It's an opportunity of a lifetime, my career would... but if there's a reason to stay..." She looked at him meaningfully. She was asking him to tell her to stay, and he wanted her to, he needed her to. He knew that for Lois to leave, to live his life without seeing her every day... A silence dulled over the small space and Lois took a step back. "So is there anything you want to say?"

_Yes. I'm the Blur. Stay, don't go. This makes sense Lois, we could be selfish together, and just be together._ "That... sounds amazing Lois." He forced a smile. For all his powers, when it came to things he really wanted, people he needed to be with, Jor-El was right. He wasn't human. He couldn't keep trying to live a human life. He had to let her go, as painful as it would be for both of them. "I'm really happy for you."

She was taken aback. "Right. Good. I leave on Thursday." She added as she stormed out of the cupboard before she did something she would regret, leaving a bewildered Clark in her wake.

**xxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox**

"Hey Chloe," Clark whispered as he walked into Jimmy's hospital room. "Hey man, how are you feeling?"

"Pretty good thanks CK, but that might have something to do with the morphine." He smiled. Clark had to admit Jimmy did have some colour in his cheeks, although in comparison, Chloe was looking really white.

"Chloe, are you ok?" Clark winced.

She smiled. "It seems the sickness bug is not a 24 hour thing. I'm ok though, thanks for stopping by."

He nodded. "Chloe, I hate to ask, but can I have a word with you?"

"Yeah, of course." She stood from the chair and began following him out.

"Hey, CK, if it's about Lois, we've got no secrets, I heard all of it the other day in the apartment." He grinned.

Clark forced a smile and gave Chloe a meaningful look, continuing walking out of the room. "Chloe, did you know Lois took a job in New York? And that she was leaving on Thursday?"

"I knew she got offered the job, I didn't know that she was going to take it," Chloe shook her head in confusion. "Is she going?"

"That's what she said." Clark nodded. "Chloe, how could you not have said anything?"

"She asked me not to, Clark." Chloe defended herself. "I didn't think she'd leave telling you to the last minute though... unless..." Chloe shot him a look. "What did you say to her?"

"What?" Clark took a step back. "Nothing, I didn't say anything."

"Maybe that's the problem Clark, you _know_ how hard it is for Lois to let anyone new in, and she knows you're hiding something." Chloe scolded him.

"Well I don't know what to do Chloe." Clark said, almost angrily. They'd had this conversation so many times over the years but about Lana, but each time they danced, they always did the same steps.

"Well... do you want her to go?" Chloe asked. It was a simple question and it was loaded.

Clark stared at her for a second. "No."

"Then you need to make a choice, Clark. Risking yourself with Lois, or playing it safe without her." Chloe advised. "You can't be alone forever." She gave him a sympathetic look and hug before going back to Jimmy's side. She'd given him a lot to think about, he just worried that either way, something bad would come of it.


	12. Revelations

Evening was coming on swiftly, and Lois was still stuck at her desk pondering what happened earlier. Lois may have been a bit impulsive with telling Clark she was definitely going to Iraq – if she was honest with herself, she didn't want to leave, but the General always told her it was character building to leave your comfort zones every once and a while. She knew it would be a massive career development and a chance to see other parts of the world. On the other hand, it would mean giving up Clark, everyone she loved and most of all, the Blur. He hadn't been that forthcoming with her anyway – she laughed, something Clark and the Blur had in common. Suddenly her mind whirred back to the earthquake spectator image she had been looking at, in what seemed like weeks ago. She did find it strange that the resemblance was uncanny, and had even asked Rick to try and tidy it up for her as best he could, although apparently it was a lost cause.

The Blur had promised her... actually she wasn't sure what he promised her, she just knew that it was 'soon'._ Great Lane, you're holding onto the promise of 'soon' from a man you've never seen, smart move_, Lois scolded herself. And Clark... She wanted so much for something to happen, but if he couldn't see that she was worth fighting for, there was no point sticking around looking at his face all day. She didn't think she could take it – sure, for a while it'd all be back to normal, but it would gnaw at her. It all seemed to come down to Clark. He had his chance to say something, she hoped he might say something, but for whatever reason, he held back from her. It was crushing, but she knew she had survived worse. No hope goes undashed for Lois Lane, that was just a reality she had to live with.

Springing her out of her thoughts, the phone rang. "Lois Lane of the Daily Planet."

"Lois." She rose from her chair, immediately noticing the distorted voice to be his.

"You." She replied, and suddenly wondered why she always went to mush at the sound of his voice.

"I heard you might be going out of town." He stated flatly, with a tone of curiosity in his voice.

"Wow, news travels fast on rooftops." Lois quipped.

"Let's just say I keep my ear to the ground." He replied.

Lois smiled to herself, entertaining the thought, "Have you been checking up on me?"

"I watch after everyone, Lois." He smiled to himself.

Lois shook her head, "Of course you do. So what can I do for you tonight?"

"I made you a promise Lois, and I intend to keep it." His voice sounded far off.

Lois held her breath. "You mean... I get to meet you – I mean face to face?" He paused for a second. "Please don't back out now."

"Lois, I want to be honest with you. Will you meet me?"

"Where?" She replied immediately.

"I'm on the roof." He replied.

She looked at the ceiling, smiling. "I'll be there in 5." And she hung up the phone.

Grabbing her purse and coat, she headed for the elevator when Rick blindsided her. "Lois!"

"Not now Rick." Lois said forcefully, concentrating on the elevator behind him.

"But I'm really close to clearing up the image! It worked, I implemented this new software and – " Rick began excitedly. Lois sidestepped him and walked inside the lift.

"I'm sure it can wait, Rick. I'll be not, I've got my cell." Lois smiled excitedly as the elevator ascended through the floors, she watched nervously as the floors ticked away. She had been waiting for this since the arrival of the Red-Blue Blur, since she had published her first story about him. All the images she'd had of what he looked like started floating around in her head again: tall, dark, handsome, blue eyes... I guess she had that in Clark. She had a lot of things in Clark: friendship, banter, comfort, intimacy, love at times, hate at others... She began smiling to herself thinking of herself with Clark. What it would be like to hold his hand, see a movie, kiss him anytime she wanted, just be with him. Then a startling realisation hit her like a ball she had never seen coming. _Oh this is worse than I thought..._ She frowned to herself. _Could it be...have I fallen for Smallville? _She immediately pulled the emergency stop: she just needed a moment to breathe, to stand still, to make sense. She knew she liked Clark, found him attractive, kind, caring etc etc, but it never really occurred to her that she might... _love_ him. Even after today and his disappearing acts, she couldn't help it. And now she was on her way to de-mask the man she had been obsessed with for months and months... _What do I do?_ Lois began pacing the very tiny elevator. _Go down._ Something in her gut told her to go back down. Suddenly, she didn't want to know who the Blur was, she didn't need to. She pressed the basement level once, pushed in the stop button and waited: nothing. Once more, still nothing. And then frantically several more times and still nothing, until a lurching sound came from outside her.

"Oh that can't be good." Lois muttered. The lurch grew louder until she became aware that it was metal stretching itself, bending. Something is seriously wrong with this elevator. She flipped out her phone, no signal. _Great. Typical._ Lois thought. "Help!" Lois began banging on the door, hoping she was close enough to Floor 12 still so that they could hear her. "Help!"

The lurching grew louder until there was a thud beneath her and the elevator jumped. Lois felt what was coming next. "Help!" Her voice grew quiet, afraid that any tiny sound would send her plummeting to the ground.

She was right. She felt a light body sensation and she was all too aware that she was hurtling towards the ground, probably to her death, unable to stop from screaming. The end was coming soon, she felt that too, suddenly wondered what death would be like, sad she never got to tell Clark how she felt, hoped Chloe and Jimmy would be happy together before...

Before...

Everything had stopped. She was on the floor, but she hadn't died. Her eyes were still closed from terror, her limbs daren't move. She heard the overhead compartment being ripped from its shingles, and she knew she had just been saved by the Blur, and that if she opened her eyes that second she would see his face.

Her eyes remained shut. "Um, thank you!" She said, aware she probably looked like a lunatic.

"Lois, are you ok?" His voice was different from the phone, but still distorted, it just sounded deeper, but on some level familiar.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine, you can go now." She covered her eyes with a hand, unable to trust herself. She couldn't look at him because the mystery was needed, for some unfathomable reason she had chosen Clark and that was all she needed to know.

A loud plonk made Lois conclude that he had landed in the elevator with her, and was in fact standing right in front of her, closer than they'd ever been. "Why...?"

"The hand? It covers the eyes." She took a breath. "Ok, the thing is, I thought I wanted to know who you were, I was positive that when I saw you, well... The thing is, I realised in this elevator that I don't need to know who you are because I fell for Clark, and well, you're more a symbol than a potential boyfriend, not that's what I thought when I was coming up, it's just..." She took a deep breath. "I just realised that I have someone in my life who makes me feel like you used to, like I matter, like I'm the only one in the world... well anyway," She smiled, embarrassed at how much she divulged. She could hear his slow steady breaths, and his hand lightly caress her cheek, so familiar...

Her phone rang, and she laughed, "Now it works. Sorry, but seriously feel free to go. You've done your damsel saving for the day." And turning her attention to the phone, "Rick? Oh great, but probably still not the time... What? You're sure?... The image was positively identified as... through the computer?" Lois let everything process through her brain. The dentist, the disappearing act, the physical similarities. "Clark?" She muttered more to herself.

He whispered to her. "You are not a damsel, you made that perfectly clear the other day." The Blur's voice, it was his normal voice, no distortions. She knew that voice without a shadow of a doubt, but stood unmoved unable to take her hand away from her eyes, afraid of who she might see, or worse, who she wouldn't see.

His hand lay atop of hers, and he gently guided her hands away from her eyes. They flickered open, uncertainly, and at first she could only make out his shape before his face came into focus. In front of her stood Clark Kent; in every fibre of her being she knew it to be true and still she thought this a trick.

"You're the Blur." It was more a statement than a question, she was still processing.

"I'm the Blur." He confirmed, her hand still in his.

"And you're Clark." She knew everything to come out of her mouth right then was going to be nothing but gibberish, but that didn't matter.

"Yes. Lois, I know this is a lot to handle, and I'm sorry. But I wanted you to know, you had to know." Clark said to her in an intimate way, he always had a way of making things personal.

"I'm really not the fainting kind, but I think I could use a sit down." Lois said, vaguely aware that there was absolutely no way both of them could stay trapped in a broken elevator until this got resolved.

"I know a place." Clark smiled. "Just hold on to me." He held her close and felt her arms wrap around his neck, her eyes fixated on him.

Gathering momentum, Clark leaped from inside the elevator, up through the roof and into the brisk night sky, where stars began to peak out and the sun was finishing it's daily cycle. Lois noticed that the higher they got – the higher Clark took her – the more the sun and stars existed together. The landscape below was breathtaking, she couldn't keep it all in. Her eyes fixed back onto Clark's face; in it, she saw courage, determination, strength, confidence. This was a side to Clark he only rarely let out, and now she could see why. He was more than Clark Kent, he was a superhero in every sense of the word. Metropolis began to fade away and she rested on his chest, closing her eyes for only moments before letting everything fall away.

* * *

**Hey!**

**I don't know about anyone else, but writing how lois finds out is one of the most difficult things ever. The sheer pressure and like 6 smallville years of the build-up was like phoar! So what did u think? I'm pretty happy how it turned out - I didn't want to go down the he told her or she found out way, I wanted it simultaneous - don't we all ladies? Lol, but seriously, I'd love to hear your thoughts.**

**Your loyal shipping servant,**

**Feral X**


	13. Fortress

Lois woke up to a sea of white swimming beneath her, only vaguely aware that she was the one moving over it rather than it sifting past her. She felt a warm chest, and heard a steady beating heart beside her cheek and looked up to see Clark holding her in his arms, concentrating on the path ahead. She couldn't quite comprehend anything – the ground was moving impossibly quickly below her, what looked like polar icecaps sped past her in the blink of an eye, she had no idea where she was or where they were going, and Clark – Smallville, of all people – was making this happen.

Noticing her awake, Clark glanced down for a moment and smiled at her. "We're nearly there."

"Nearly wh –" Lois started, but the whole world stopped in front of her. They were still, but she still felt like everything was going a million miles an hour, her head spun in circles as Clark put her down. She was still spinning, she rested her hand on her head and felt weak. Clark lead her over to a mound of ice, but when she sat on it, the cold didn't even touch her.

"It might take a minute to catch up with you, I rarely travel so fast for so long with people." Clark said, as he helped her sit as gently as he could. He couldn't believe this was happening, to tell Lois and to take her to the Fortress was more than he ever thought he could give to her, but here he was, and there she was.

"Quite a set of wheels you've got Smallville, I'll be ok in a second." Lois smiled to herself. Calling him Smallville now seemed insulting, it didn't fit. "Oh I'm sorry, should I not call you that now? I mean, I probably shouldn't have before, but now –" Clark looked at her while she made her nervous ramble, and it wasn't long before she realised who she was talking to and gave an embarrassed half smile before closing her mouth. "This is gonna be wierd isn't it?"

Clark stared at her, "It's still me, Lois. I'm still Clark."

She stood up, trying to catch your breath. "But you're not just Clark, you're the Blur...and I've been acting like... The things I say to you and to him are not the same. You're two different people in my head." Clark stood up slowly, unsure of what to say, and Lois looked uncomfortable to have said so much. Clark had to admit that the temporary halt of insults and belittling was different, but they would adjust. Lois turned around, actually taking in her surroundings for the first time since being there. Icicles of diamonds surrounded her in every corner of her eyes, the air was cold and although she could see the vapour off her breath, she had yet to witness any from Clark. "What is this place?" She asked in awe.

Clark smiled, "I guess you could say this is my home away from Smallville. It's called the Fortress of Solitude."

Lois gave him a grin. "Nice name, come with a slogan?" Clark smiled, and breathed a sigh of relief. This was still Lois, still the woman he'd chosen to tell, still the woman he knew he had to tell. "But seriously Clark, how did you build this?"

"I didn't." Clark shrugged, "It just kind of... formed. A few times actually."

Lois spun around, staring in disbelief. "But how... I mean this is superhuman Clark, no one could have designed this."

Clark darted his eyes away and turned his back on her for a second, unsure of his next move. Lois looked at him, worried she had said something to upset him. _You've shown her this much_, Clark thought. "Lois, the powers, the Fortress... it's not all." He inhaled deeply, and turned back to face her. "I'm not from here. I'm from a planet named Krypton. I was sent here as a child by my biological parents and was raised by the Kents."

He braced himself for impact, for the million questions the Lois Lane he knew would immediately ask; alternatively, he prepared himself for a fainting, as slim the chances of that were. Instead, Lois, unable to turn her eyes from him walked over to him, looked up into his eyes and placed her hand on his face, smiling as she did it. "Feels like the same Smallville to me."

He exhaled, a little too forcefully as she blinked and stepped back half a step. "Oh sorry," He grinned. "You've always kept me on edge, I guess I just wasn't sure if you'd accept me."

"Clark – and as embarrassing as this is to admit because although I shall always claim that I totally knew you were the Blur when I had no idea – what I said on the elevator... I meant it. You can't chase me away. I'm in it for the long haul Smallville." She placed her arms round his neck as his slid around her waist.

"Really?" He smiled. "And what would you define 'long haul' as, Lois?"

"Well, basically, you fly me to the moon and I won't write the story." She grinned. "Now that's commitment."

He laughed. "I hate to disappoint you Lois, but I can't fly yet."

"But earlier...?" Lois blinked in confusion.

"Man's best high jump I'm afraid. We pretty much ran here." Clark revealed.

"Very cool Smallville. Speaking of, aren't you freezing?" Lois suppressed a shiver; if he wasn't going to admit the cold then neither was she.

"Oh." Clark removed his blue jacket and put it around her, giving her skin a warm glow if only for a few seconds and leaving Clark in nothing but a t-shirt. "It doesn't really affect me."

"Right, me neither." She grinned as that suppressed shudder exploded from her.

"We can leave if –" Clark pulled away.

"No." She immediately cut in, smiling. "It took me years for you to get me here Smallville, don't think you can take it all away now." She took him by the hand and led him to a mound where they could both sit, just for a little while; when a thought struck her. "Does anyone else know? About you? And the Blur?"

"Well I think most of the city is aware of the Blur's existence, Lois." He quipped. Suddenly she noticed how different Clark was when he wasn't trying to hide from her. In real life, he was a lot smarter than she gave him credit for, witty, confident... she realised it must have been lonely having to hide so many sides of himself. "But Chloe knows, she found out in high school. And Lana, but that was more recent. And Lex found out at the end." He added the last one remorsefully; for all their differences, Lois knew Clark was the type of man to regret any loss, no matter who it was. She wished she could be as forgiving as him.

"Oh." Lois nodded, unable to determine if she was insulted that so many knew before her and she had been the ignorant one; she hated being the ignorant one. "Wow, that's quite a few people."

"Lois," He tucked his finger under her chin, bringing it up to look him in the eye. "You're the only one I've ever told voluntarily; the others found out or deducted and I was cornered. I _wanted_ to tell you, that's the difference."

Lois smiled, she felt safe with him; she knew Clark wouldn't hurt her and what he just told her made her love him even more than the superhero he was underneath. "Clark, I... thank you."

He smiled, almost comically. "For what?"

"For being honest with me, I know what that must have taken. I know what it's like to build a fence..." Lois smiled away her thoughts onto brighter topics. "Besides, had you given me a few seconds to process I would have figured out the Blur was you. I mean, it's so obvious."

Clark smiled. "Fools everyone else, but I should have known it would have never got past Lois Lane." She smiled at him. "Lois, can I ask you a question?"

She took in a breath, "Of course you can."

"Are you still going to Iraq?" He paused for a second and she smiled at him, realising he must already know the answer. "Because if you get yourself into that much trouble in Metropolis I don't think I could get anything done if I had to get to Iraq at least four times a day."

She grinned and playfully punched him in the arm, and he let out a laugh. "Hey, I take care of myself just fine thank you Smallville."

"Oh really? The car crash, the fire, the elevator – and that's just this last week." Clark gave a lopsided grin; he knew she could take care of herself most days, she was the most capable and resourceful woman he'd ever met and that thrilled him.

"Oh right, I forgot you knew about those..." She looked him in the eye. "It's weird, it's like I'm talking to you, Clark, the man I've known for years, but then I'm also talking to the Blur... at the same time."

Clark looked down uncertainly. "Weird in a good way?"

"Well nothing's gonna be quite the same." She replied honestly, and saw his face fall. "But Clark? That's not always a bad thing. In fact, I think this could be good for us."

"Yeah?" He laughed.

"Sure. Lois and Clark: the new adventures." She grinned.

"Lois first?" He joked, "Aren't you the sidekick?"

She cracked a smile. "In your dreams, Smallville. If you thought working with me was bad, being with me is a whole other ball game."

"I can't wait." He smiled and leaned in closer, pulling her head gently towards his and pressing his lips against hers. Lois smiled as he kissed her, basking in this new Clark, this confident, strong superhero man she now had in her life and thanked whatever God there was that brought him to her.

* * *

**Hey!**

**Are we happy? Any suggestions - thanks to those who reviewed the last few chapters. I've put some links with the movies and the dean cain series throughout the last few chapters, I hope you caught/ liked them - I know the one here is obvious, but someone had to do it =)**

**Thanks,**

**Feral X**


	14. Defence and Offence

Clark sat at his desk, his pencil resting on his lips, staring into space, thinking about the time he spent with Lois the day before. They sat and talked for hours, about who he was, what he was doing as the Blur, what it meant for their relationship, what their relationship was... everything. Despite Lois being freezing cold, she was inquisitive and intelligent with her questions, and he responded in a similar manner. It felt like breathing in fresh air after inhaling the stuffy lies he'd been telling her for years; they were finally honest with each other, and it excited Clark as to what that meant now. He dropped her off at her apartment in the small hours of the morning, kissed her goodnight and left. Clark arguably had the best night of sleep he'd ever had last night, and as Lois descended the stairway that morning, it was clear why.

He grinned at her as she approached him, as she hid a blush behind a smile and delved into her papers, supposedly uninterested. "Good morning Smallville."

"Good morning Lois." He tried to keep as straight a face as possible. After everything they'd been through together in the last 24 hours, those words seemed insignificant. However, they had agreed that they should keep it 'professional' at work so as not to compromise their jobs; Lois had provided such a logical reason, but Clark knew that Lois put so much work into her steely professional exterior she didn't want what would look like an office romance to damage it, no matter who it was with. Clark liked that about her: despite exactly who he was and his powers, Lois still wanted to keep their relationship private from the rest of the world, something that was only theirs.

Lois took a seat at her desk, directly opposite Clark, and he felt unable to resist staring at her; the glint in her eye, the curve of her lips, the crease in her forehead when she frowned. Lois' gaze flickered for a moment to his face and saw him smiling at her and she couldn't help but let a small satisfied smile escape from her lips. "Stare like that and you'll burn a hole through my head."

Clark bared a smile at her inside joke. "Something tells me that wouldn't stop you anyway."

"You know it." She grinned. "As any good reporter would." Lois looked about the room for a second when her gaze fell on Rick, who immediately saw her and beckoned her over with an urgency that instantly made her panic. She nodded at him seriously, watched him scuttle into the copy room and then turned to Clark. "This is bad." She stood, grabbed Clark's arm and yanked him into the supply closet before he could even protest.

As the door closed, he put his arms around her and said, "I thought we were keeping it professional at work, Lois."

Lois' worried expression made him realise that she wasn't joking around. "Clark – Rick!"

It took him a moment to make a sentence out of two names, when his mouth dropped in exasperation. "He said he saw me somewhere, that's how you knew."

"I'm so sorry Clark. I thought I saw you in a photo of the quake this week and I gave it to him to clear up. I got the call, then it was you... I just forgot. I'm so sorry." Lois explained.

Clark brought her in for a reassuring hug, "It's ok Lois," He brought her out, holding onto her arms as he looked at her. "I've almost been caught before – people believe what they want to believe. I'll just have to come up with an alibi..." He looked deeply for a second and Lois could see that he was slightly frustrated to be put in this position, but she knew him well enough to know that he would never let her feel guilty.

"No Clark, it was my fault, I'll fix it." Lois took a deep breath and walked out of the room before he could stop her.

She walked over to the copy room where she found Rick pacing and looking incredibly flustered. "Rick, what's –"

"Lois." He grabbed hold of her almost desperately before realising himself and dropped her. "It was definitely Clark Kent in the photo, look!" He shoved the digitally enhanced photo into her face, and she saw that it was Clark. The photo was faded and still slightly fuzzy, but anyone who knew him could see it was him.

"What? This looks _nothing_ like Clark." Lois lied as best she could. "Rick, this could be anyone. It kinda looks like Bill from accounting though..." She stared at it from a different angle before Rick grabbed it and tried looking at it in the same angle, seeming unconvinced and shooting her a look that told her so.

"What? No, Lois, it's Clark. I cross-referenced the time when the image was taken and the time here – Lois, he wasn't seen in the building by anyone at that time!" He seemed really excited by his discovery; she could see why, to his mind he had just uncovered the Blur.

"That's ridiculous Rick. He was with me that day – the day of the fire?" She jogged his memory, hoping to trick him into remembering something that his logical reasoning would implant in his brain. He looked pensive for a moment, processing what she said. "There's no way it could be him. We're seeing something that isn't possible." She shrugged, the final note in her performance, hoping that was enough.

He shook his head, seemingly unconvinced. "No, Lois, look," He pointed to the picture again. "It's him. And before you say anything," He continued as she opened her mouth, "It _is_ possible. Lois," He smiled knowingly, and said the thing Lois so dreaded hearing: "What if _Clark_ is the Blur?"

They both turned to look at him through the window as he sat at his desk. As if almost on cue, Clark spilled the coffee he was drinking down his shirt and jumped up out of his chair making a mess. "_That_ Clark?" Lois asked incredulously.

Rick frowned. "Yeah, it doesn't seem likely that the Blur would be so... clumsy, and well, dorky, does it?"

"Hey!" Lois jumped round. "Clark Kent is _not_ dorky." Then Lois realised that by defending Clark, she wasn't going to help him keep his secret. "Today. He's not dorky today." She scoffed, "I mean, today's been a mild day compared to what he's usually like. You should count your blessings that clumsy clod over there isn't your partner."

Rick looked confused. "But I thought you guys were friends..."

"Oh we are." Lois nodded. "But let's face it, he's not exactly hunk material." She took a deep breath and rolled her eyes, "Look, Rick, if you're telling me that Clark has some connection to the Blur, then I want to hear it, but unless you've actually got proof," (which she knew he hadn't) "Then don't waste my time with ridiculous accusations."

Rick backed down like she hoped he would and handed her the picture in defeat before leaving the room like the loser he felt like. Lois took a deep breath of relief and looked over to Clark with his coffee stained shirt; he winked at her and smiled. She looked at the picture one more time, ripped it up and threw it away. She'd have to erase it from Rick's computer as soon as she could, but it seemed like the threat was gone for now.

Lois walked back out onto the main floor and sat at her desk while Clark went to wash up. There was a post-it on her desk reading:

_Lois,_

_How about dinner tonight?_

_I'll pick you up at 8._

_X_

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox**

Lois spent the better part of two hours getting dressed with Chloe's assistance. Chloe had been home from the hospital, leaving Jimmy there one more night. Lois figured she was getting increasingly neurotic about bringing him home in case anything should happen.

"Ok, I'm thinking the black." Lois looked at her three final choices laying out on her bed. "You can't go wrong with black."

"That's true." Chloe nodded.

"Then again, the red looks particularly good with these heels. And black could be interpreted as depressing." Lois mumbled.

"That's true too." Chloe suppressed a giggle as Lois looked over to her.

"You are enjoying this way too much." Lois narrowed her eyes.

"I'm sorry Lo, it's just I've never seen you spend more than half an hour getting dressed for a guy you've only met once, and you've seen Clark almost every day for the last whatever years. He knows what you look like." Chloe smiled. "The casual observer would think that you're nervous."

Lois was about to protest before deciding against it and collapsed on top of all her dresses on the bed. "Maybe I am." She sat up to face Chloe. "Chloe, this isn't anyone. It's Clark, it's the Blur, it's both of them." Lois had decided to tell Chloe that Clark told her the big secret earlier on, and for about three hours it was all they could talk about. Once it got to six-thirty, Lois' wardrobe meltdown had occurred and Chloe had been enjoying it since then. "Chloe... how could I be... good enough?"

"Hey!" Chloe shoved her, smiling. "Don't even think that." Lois lay back down on the bed staring at the ceiling, as Chloe lay back with her. "No man has ever been good enough for you Lois, and now you're scared because someone might actually be able to live up to the incredibly high standards you set to protect yourself." Lois turned to look at her. "Clark is that someone Lois. I just know it. The way he looks at you... well, he never looked at Lana like that."

"Really?" She asked seriously, searching her eyes for any hint of irony.

"Really. You two have been meant for each other from the beginning, everyone saw it. Everyone but the two of you." She smiled. "For a superhero, Clark can be quite dense sometimes."

Lois laughed, and then they lay in silence for a moment holding hands. "I think the red. The red seems right for Clark."

"I couldn't agree with you more." Chloe squeezed her hand. "Come on, we've gotta get you ready."


	15. Honesty is the Best Policy

The minutes on the clock ticked tediously by and in the last four minutes alone Lois had gone from muted nervousness and excitement to outright panic that either Clark wasn't going to show or that the date would go horribly wrong. Chloe had left her to her own devices, deciding on taking an badly timed visit to the hospital when Lois' freak-out had spiralled out of a rational person's control.

"It's ok Lois, just breathe." She told herself, taking a second to stop pacing in her heels. It was currently 7.58pm, and nothing she could do could make her forget about that.

A knock at the door completely threw her off and she couldn't decide whether opening the door should come after quickly checking herself out in the mirror or whether she shouldn't keep the Blur waiting. "Coming!" She yelled at the door as she decided on the former option. She scuttled over to the door and found Clark standing there in a black suit with a blue tie that highlighted his eyes. "Hi." She smiled.

Clark stood dumbstruck for a moment, and closing his mouth as he said, "Lois, you look... incredible."

"Oh this old thing?" She joked uncomfortably, clutching hold of the door. Every cell in her body was quivering in nervousness. She knew that for all the feelings she had for Clark and the Blur, she and Clark had been friends – and not always great ones – for years. Despite thinking she'd been prepared to be with him, her present uneasy behaviour told her different. "Do you wanna come in?"

"I was hoping you would come out." Clark smiled, taking her hand. His hand sparked as he grabbed for hers. She relaxed into his hand, and he felt the tension in his shoulders go.

She nodded, smiling, and followed him out, locking the door behind her. As they descended the stairs, hand in hand, Clark stopped at the bottom, turning to face her. "I was going to bring you flowers, but then it occurred to me, I have no idea what you like."

Lois smiled, relaxing into the conversation, "Well Smallville, I'm a complicated woman and complicated women like different flowers depending on the situation."

"Ok, and what sort of flowers would be appropriate for a date with you? Complicated or otherwise." Clark asked, smiling at the easiness of being with her. Sometimes Lois was the Lois he had gotten used to over the years: filled with quips, patronising, teasing, kind; and sometimes she was the Lois he had only recently met: shy, nervous, unsure, beautiful, irresistible. The two together made Clark feel like he _wasn't_ special, that everyone else in the world had two personalities, that Lois could understand him like no one else; she made him feel like the human he had always wanted to be.

And her smile... "Orchids." Her hands softened in his. "You can't go wrong with orchids."

Clark smiled knowingly, and took his hands away from hers. "Orchids it is."

Lois blinked, and felt a gust of cold wind blow across her face, to see Clark standing in front of her, just as he had before, slightly adjusted and with the biggest bouquet of orchids she'd ever seen in his arms. Her mouth dropped open, and then a laugh escaped. "You really know how to impress a girl, Smallville." She accepted them into her arms, admiring their astounding beauty, and murmuring as she looked into his eyes, "They're perfect, thank you."

He smiled the smile that made Lois' knees go weak every single time and made her heart beat a mile a minute; it was his nervous/ modest smile. The smile that told her he had no idea what he was doing and loving every moment of it; the smile that said he cared for her as much she did him; and the smile that told her that for any moment of doubt she had that Clark was the man for her, there were a million moments like this overwhelmingly telling her that this was right in every sense of the word. In that second, Lois lunged herself at him, unwilling and unable to stop herself from kissing him right there in that light. At first surprised, he responded fire for fire, strength for strength, holding her close as she enclosed her arms around his neck. It was a passionate release for both of them, finally letting go of years of playing and teasing, and embracing something more, something that they'd both needed for so long. Clark felt the spark of fire she had within her ignite his lips, pulling her over for more, wanting so much for this to never end, for this to be real.

Slowly, and hesitantly at first, they pulled apart, gasping for shallow breaths. "Wow." Clark smiled, stroking her cheek. "Remind me to get you flowers more often."

Lois bit her lip. "Makes me wonder why you never got me any before." She took a few steps back, flowers in hand, looking at him longingly, "I'm gonna put these in some water. I'll be right back." She winked as she ascended the stairs, leaving Clark watching her as she went.

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox**

The drive to the restaurant was filled with sideward glances and blushing smiles on both parts, finding little to say, enjoying the fact that they didn't need to say anything at all to know what the other was thinking. The restaurant was black and dark red, a slighter darker shade than Lois' dress, with the theme of romance sprinkled around the place as if Valentine's Day could have been constructed there. They were shown to their table quickly, and were sat at a table in the corner of the restaurant, and Lois was silently happy that they were far away enough from others that they would be able to talk about anything and everything.

"Thank you." Lois said to the waiter as he left them, and looked over to Clark who grinned at her. "What?" She smiled.

"If someone had told me 6 years ago that this is where we'd end up, I wouldn't have believed it." Clark replied.

"I would have laughed." Lois cracked a smile. "And probably been insulted."

"You know, traditionally, people make nice on a date." Clark teased. He loved the thrill of Lois' character: one minute she was kissing him like nothing he'd ever experienced and the next she was back to insulting him. Her unpredictable nature contradicted his entirely, and he admitted to himself that the thought of Lois had never, from the moment he met her, seemed entirely off the table for him.

"Yeah well, I don't think tradition is something we're going to have to worry about. It's not exactly typical to go out with a... you." Lois lowered her voice as she realised her surroundings and substituted 'superhero' for 'you'.

Clark chuckled, "It's kind of a new experience for me to go out with a Lois Lane as well."

"It'll be the thrill of your life, Smallville." She grinned, opening the menu.

"I bet." Clark murmured.

"What?" Lois cocked her head up.

"Oh, the steak looks good." Clark covered, grabbing the menu from beneath his elbows.

"You know, for all your abilities, it's a good thing you're still a klutz in real life. It was only due to your impeccable timing with the coffee today that Rick believed you are nothing more than the average run of the mill plaid wearing farmboy." Lois smiled, leaning into the table.

Clark grinned, ignoring the stereotype. "I guess having 'clumsy clod' as a partner isn't so bad."

Lois looked confused and then clocked it. "You could hear us? You were listening!"

"I've had some bad experience with people almost finding out before, it helps if I look like the last person in the world to be who I am." Clark explained. Lois nodded, somewhat in amazement, before returning back to her menu. Clark watched her movements, elegant and unintentional, and in his bones he couldn't believe that this is where they ended up, and how lucky that made him feel. "Lois?"

Her head snapped up, "Yeah?"

"I..." Clark began, "I think I'm going with the steak after all." And Lois replied with almost a snorted laugh and returned back to her menu. He completely chickened out. _What happened? _Clark didn't know what held him back; there were things he felt, things he knew he should tell Lois, especially after she accidently opened up to how she felt about Clark to the Blur, but every time he wanted to tell her how much she meant to him, how special she was to him, his tongue caught in his throat. Deep down, he felt it was because of Lana. Despite every way they tried it, him being human, him being superhuman, it didn't work, and he feared that the same could be true of a relationship with Lois. He feared that loving her now, now that she was finally right there in front of him, would mean that everything would be ruined the way it was before. Ultimately, Clark feared that his powers meant he wasn't allowed to be in love, and that was what was really holding him back.

"Clark?" Lois' soft voice called him back to reality. "You look like you're a million miles away."

"I'm right here with you." He smiled uncertainly, taking her hand for effect.

"And as sweet as that is, I think I know you better than that." Lois claimed, resting her menu on the table. Lois felt a pang in her chest, she knew what that look meant: she'd seen that look, she'd looked that look. It was the look of uncertainty, of realising that this was a horrible mistake, and suddenly every comfort she felt before in that restaurant was gone and instead was replaced by a feeling of awkward silence. If Lois had one thing though, it was pride. "Look Clark, maybe this wasn't such a great idea. We both have work in the morning – "

"Lois, tomorrow's a Saturday." Clark smiled.

"Right," Lois almost stuttered. "Clark..." She was lost for words; on the one hand, she really didn't want to go, she wanted this to be the perfect date; on the other hand, she had to save face if he was calling it off first. She decided to go with her unprecedented and unpredictable move: honesty. "Is this_ really_ what you want? I thought..." Lois broke eye contact, feeling incredibly vulnerable. "I guess some break ups are too hard to get over right away." She placed her napkin on the table, stood from her chair and walked away and out of the restaurant.

As she approached the car park she became increasingly aware that she had no car, and taxis seemed to have disappeared into the abyss when she needed them.

"Lois." She spun to face Clark, he stood on the opposite side of her and the restaurant, meaning he must have supersped. "This is not about Lana." Lois nodded as best she could, but her chest swelled, meaning that tears felt like they were on the way. "It's not. Well, not entirely."

"Clark, it's fine." Lois nodded, arm folded across her chest. "We all have a first and lost love -"

"No, it's not like that." He took a step closer to her. "Do you remember what I said the other day at the apartment? I said that I lied to you when I said there was nothing between us at the wedding. Lois, there's always been something between us, however ill-defined." Lois cracked a smile through barely there tears. "I haven't been fair to you. You told me in the elevator how you felt – "

"It wasn't supposed to come out at _you_." Lois replied, defending herself. "It came out to the Blur."

"Don't you see how glad I am that it did? I know you Lois, I know you hate being the vulnerable one, I know that you're scared this might not work out because I feel it too." He took a step closer to her, holding her hand his and placing his other hand on her cheek, wiping away the single tear she shed. "But as hard as this is to imagine, you, Lois Lane, make this easy. I don't have to pretend to be anything I'm not with you, you make it easier to be who I am, you make me _be_ the man I was born to be." He kissed her softly. "I guess what I'm trying to say is... I love you."

Lois felt another warm tear slide down her face as her eyes closed in silent relief. Her heart skipped a beat, and she rested her hand on his chest. "As long as you said it first." She smiled, then broke into laughter. Clark took her in his arms, and felt her head rest on his body. He felt relieved, happy, unburdened, elated, confused and clear all in one. He had told Lana he loved her too, and he had, but the way he felt about Lois excelled beyond that. It made him feel like he could –

"Umm, Clark?" Lois' voice made him distantly aware that her head was no longer on his chest, rather her forehead was.

"Lois, what are you...?" Clark couldn't see her eyes anymore, just the top of her head.

She snapped her head back up at him with a gleaming smile. "I'm no expert, but I'd call this flying."

Clark looked down to the floor, to find that their feet were significantly off the ground and that they, in a thankfully deserted restaurant car park, were floating about a metre and a half in the air. Clark smiled, and then laughed, and then kissed Lois for all the reasons he could possibly think of.

"How are you doing this?" Lois asked in awe, holding onto him just that much tighter, unsure of his new powers.

He held her in tightly for reassurance. "It's you." Clark smiled. "You gave me what I needed to feel like I can take on the world. You gave me what I needed to finally be able to fly."

* * *

**Ok, I am nervous about this chapter. I'm hoping u liked the ending of this chapter, but I don't know if I rushed this.**

**Honesty will be appreciated. Lies would be awesome =P**

**Thanks, Feral X**


	16. Learning to Fly

After a few minutes dangling in the air, basking in each other's gazes, Lois felt like she could stay like this with Clark forever; with his arms around her waist and hers around his neck. However, it finally came to her attention that they were in a public car park and maybe this wasn't the best place to be doing this.

"Clark, do you think maybe there's a better time and place for this?" Lois suggested, glancing around.

"Yes." Clark agreed. "Actually I've been trying to get down, but..."

"You can't control it?" Lois asked, somewhat surprised.

"Lois, with each of my powers, there's always an adjustment period." Clark explained.

"Well you might want to consider adjusting quicker otherwise someone's going to see us." Lois kept nervously glancing around, aware that anyone could drive in or come out of the restaurant any second.

Clark's face was strained, his toes kept pointing to the ground and yet nothing was happening. "I can't control it."

"Ok," Lois said, trying to keep the panic out of her voice. "Maybe instead of down we could go up or along, behind a building or –"

"I don't know if I _could_ go up if I can't go down." Clark admitted, feeling slightly vulnerable that the man Lois thought was invincible had some problems with his powers.

Lois saw Clark's face fall, as if he thought he'd disappointed her or something. She smiled and moved her hand to his cheek. "Clark, it's ok. I understand." He smiled in relief, and his love for her grew. Lois realised something that made her smile. "Maybe we just need to tap into whatever it was that got us up here in the first place."

Clark squinted his eye in confusion. "But –" Before he could say another word, Lois leaned into him and kissed him passionately, almost aggressively, pulling him into her. Clark, unable to resist, matched her kiss for kiss, strength for strength, as they felt the wind gush from beneath them and pulled away only slightly to realise that they had launched into the air and were moving beyond the city, above the skyscrapers, beneath the stars. Lois felt her breath being taken away as Clark's arms tightened around her, guiding them through the sky, weaving in and out. Their kisses never ending, unable to stop, unwilling to let the other go.

Slowly, the world caught up and the noise of the city hummed into the silence of the country, leaving only the sounds of their short breaths and the chirp of crickets as they descended the stars to land graciously on the roof of Clark's house in Smallville. As they felt the ground hit their feet, they pulled apart, Lois smiling once she realised where they were.

"That was... incredible! The rush, the wind in my hair!" Lois hugged Clark in delight. Pulling away, she looked at him. "You flew Clark, you actually flew!"

"We flew." He corrected her. "It was perfect."

"And you brought us back here." Lois smiled, realising how beautiful the farm looked overlooking the fields at night.

Clark turned to stare at the horizon as Lois did, realising that for the first time in a long time, no moment had been quite as perfect as this one. The cool air brushed past their faces, as they stood reflecting on what happened.

"Clark?" Lois whispered.

"Yes?" Clark answered.

"How do we get down? I mean besides kissing you into the next century, because I don't think I could do that every time you're out saving someone." Lois pointed out.

"You wouldn't want to fly with me again then?" He teased.

"Of _course_ I do." Lois answered, then realised he was teasing you. "It's just I might be busy washing my hair."

Clark nodded in amusement. "Well, I hate to interrupt such important plans, but I think I've got the hang of this now." To prove it to her, he stepped back and rose above her a metre in the air and then slowly floated back down to her again. He took her hand as she stepped closer to him once more. "Just hold onto me." He instructed as her arms slid around his neck.

"Always." She replied, resting her head on his chest. All at once, Lois and Clark rose in the air and floated back towards the real ground in front of his front door like a leaf falling in autumn. Clark had control, precision and softness.

Their feet touched down and once again Lois was under gravity's control. "Wow, you pick things up quickly."

"After the first few times, the principle of control works in the same way, whatever the power. Whatever it was making it occur in the first place will be the trigger next time." Clark explained, still not letting go of Lois' waist.

"So this time it was..." Lois started.

"The way I feel when I'm with you." Clark smiled. Had Lois not known his secret identity, had Lois been with him without knowing he was the Blur, he could never be as bold as he was being now. He had total honesty with Lois, he didn't have to be the Blur or Clark, he could be himself, the best of both.

* * *

**Hey, I just want to express my thoughts of the AWESOMENESS of last night's episode!!! It finally happened!!! Yay =)**

**Probably no more need for my story if the episodes r gonna be that amazing.**

**Feral X**


	17. The New Adventures of Lois and Clark

_Last night..._

After their flight, they held each other for a while, moving to the sofa to watch whatever TV movie appeared on the screen, which turned out to be one of Lois' favourites, 'Lethal Weapon 3'. Clark watched the movie half-heartedly, instead focusing on the woman in his arms and the sweet smell of her hair. When the movie ended, and all the popcorn, ice cream, chocolate a.k.a anything sweet that Lois could get her hands on, had been eaten, it was late and a small yawn from Lois told him that she was ready for sleep.

"That's such a great movie." Lois smiled. "What did you think?"

"Yeah, really great." Clark smiled, looking into her eyes. He blinked and looked away, realising that Lois was in his house, at night, having admitted how they feel about each other. Lois realised this as well, otherwise, she may not have cleared her throat and started cleaning up. "Oh, Lois, don't bother with that, it won't take me long."

"Please Clark, it's my fault the table got like this." Lois began clearing up the wrapper filled and bowl covered table, picking up the first few things, when, in the blink of an eye and with a gust of wind, all the items disappeared from the table and were all washed up and drying in the kitchen, with Clark standing idly by.

"Like I said, it won't take me long." Clark grinned. Lois laughed and walked over to him, planting a soft kiss on his lips.

"Show off." Lois whispered. They stood grinning at each other for a few seconds when Lois glanced past Clark and looked to the clock. "Wow, it's like 2.30am."

Clark spun around to check for himself. "I guess it is." Clark didn't know how to phrase what he wanted to say. In some respect, Clark knew his relationship with Lois was a long time coming, after years of teasing and playing, they were finally in a place where they were together. On the other hand, Lois finding out about his secret and how he felt about her only happened in the last few days and it seemed too fast.

And then, as if she read his mind, she said, "So, I'll take the couch." Lois hoped and prayed that Clark would be fine with her sleeping arrangement idea; after all that had happened, and as much as she wanted Clark, it was too soon, and too complicated to go there yet.

"No way." Clark replied, and for a moment, Lois held her breath, afraid of what he meant by that. "I mean, I'll take the couch, you can sleep in my room."

"Oh no, Clark, it's fine, the couch is..." She looked at the couch and then back at him. "Comfy."

Clark cracked a smile. "Nice try. I'll remind you that while you stayed here the first time you came to Smallville, I was on that couch a lot more than I'd liked to have been. _I'll_ sleep on the lumpy couch." Clark insisted, "Really Lois, it's fine. Or, if you'd prefer..." Clark took a small breath in. "Look Lois, I'm not... but we could sleep on the same bed without anything... happening." Clark suggested, awaiting to see the response as indicted by a facial expression.

Lois blushed, trying to hide it. "Right. We're both adults. We can control ourselves." She nodded, feeling a little nervous but unsure why. This was moving forward, and sometimes things were happening so fast she felt like she couldn't catch her breath, but she really wanted to have that kind of intimacy with Clark: sleeping with him without actually _sleeping_ with him. At least that's all she wanted for the time being.

"Right." Clark smiled.

Lois' face fell, and feeling completely embarrassed, she admitted, "Except I don't have any... clothes with me."

Clark smiled. "I'll be right back."

And once again, in the blink of an eye, he was gone. Lois sat back down on the sofa, her exhaustion catching up with her. In Clark's house, she felt safe and warm, protected. Shelby came and lay beside her on the couch as she rested her eyes only for a second, her body relaxed into every corner of the lumpy sofa, and before she knew it, she was asleep.

As Clark came rushing back with a bagful of clothes for Lois, he noticed the silence of his home before anything else. Intensifying his hearing, he could hear short soft breaths of Lois and Shelby on the sofa. He kneeled down beside Lois, gazing at her peaceful sleep and brushed the hair out of her face, cupping her cheek in his hand.

"Clark?" She mumbled, without opening her eyes.

"It's alright, Lois, go back to sleep." He whispered, as she fell back into her slumber. He gathered her up in his arms, resting her head on his chest, and took her upstairs to his room, gently laying her on his bed and covering the duvet over her.

Once again brushing the hair out of her face, he kissed her forehead. Smiling to himself, "You have no idea how much you mean to me." He kissed her again before leaving the room and closing the door behind him, retreating to the couch. He thought with everything that had happened this week to Lois, he needed to apply the brakes and let Lois catch her breath before he completely took it away. Shelby moved off the sofa as Clark lay down on the couch that was much too small for him, and Shelby lay in front of him along the floor, protective of her master.

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox**

Morning poured through the windows of Clark's bedroom, rousing Lois awake, and becoming aware of two things: she was in Clark's bedroom and she was alone. A mixture of disappointment and relief swirled around in her mind, and looking at the clock she found herself profusely glad it was a Saturday. There was a towel at the end of the bed, which she could only assume meant that Clark had been in and out. She swept the covers away and stood, walking over to the window. Clark was outside already, fixing the tractor by lifting it in the air with one arm and fixing it with the other. Lois realised that as flattered as she was by the exhibition of his powers to her, what she thought was showing off was actually just the way he used his powers and lived his life. "Must make things a hell of a lot quicker." She murmured to herself. Taking the towel, she headed for the shower, hoping to start off a much less complicated day that any other one she'd had this week.

Having washed and refreshed and thrown on the clothes Clark had got for her the night before, she descended the stairs of Clark's home to find Clark in the kitchen making her chocolate chip pancakes. He noticed her coming down and stopped, smiling at her, "Good morning Lois."

"Good morning yourself." Lois smiled, looking at her breakfast. "Is this for me?"

"And for me." Clark grinned. "But I suppose I might let you have a few."

Lois sat down as Clark placed a plate in front of her. The smell of the fresh pancakes made her want to salivate, but decided against doing that in front of the man she loved. She tasted a slice of hers and groaned in a seriously satisfied manner. "Clark, these are amazing!"

Clark dug into his and smiled, "I surprise even myself."

"You really didn't have to do this for me you know." Lois added, hoping he didn't think of her as high maintenance.

"I just figured that eating an actual breakfast as opposed to pop-tarts might make you less grumpy." Clark teased, "And less prone to taking it out on me."

"Hey! I do not take anything out on you." Lois defended herself, and then looked down to her pancakes. "That you don't already deserve." She smiled, relaxing into the type of banter she'd known with him and was comfortable with for years.

"Well, either way, eat up." Clark instructed. They spent the next few minutes eating their breakfast, enjoying each other's company and talking; trying to find a place between how they used to talk to each other and how they were to approach it now. Both knew how the other felt, and yet both were as nervous as the other without realising it. However, Clark knew Lois well enough to know when she was uncomfortable, and Lois knew Clark well enough to know when he was hiding something.

"Is this weird for you?" Lois asked bluntly. Clark paused mid-bite, and seriously thought about how to answer that. "I mean we've been friends for years and now... this is uncharted territory." Lois looked at him with true honestly. "I just don't want to mess this up."

"Me neither." Clark smiled, taking her hand in his. "So we won't. We'll take it slow, and see what happens. I want you to know, I will do everything in my power to make this work Lois. It'll just take some time to adjust."

Lois nodded. "You're right. It's just, I've never been this open with anyone before." Lois admitted, Clark sensing her vulnerability. "I don't usually show my real side. The General always told me to play my cards close to my chest and I guess I've applied that to every relationship I've ever had, even Ollie." She paused. "But with you... I'm taking a chance here, you know?"

Clark looked dead at her, with a strength and honesty that made her feel safe. "I promise I will never hurt you Lois. I promise that." Lois nodded, believing his words.

Just then, Chloe and Jimmy walked through the back door, Chloe supporting Jimmy's weight but only as a caution. "Hey guys, we're not interrupting, are we?"

"Chloe, Jimmy," Clark welcomed in, taking Jimmy for Chloe. "Of course not, we're just having some breakfast. Here." Clark helped Jimmy to a stall and gestured him to help himself.

"Hey, what brings you guys here?" Lois asked, digging into another spoonful of pancakes.

"Well, Jimmy was dying to get out of the apartment last night, so I figured, since we wanted to see you guys anyway, we might enjoy some country living." Chloe explained.

"These pancakes taste just like the ones from Pancake House in Metropolis." Jimmy said in awe. "You're quite a chef CK."

Lois sent an 'oh really?' look Clark's way and he smiled apologetically, before turning back to Chloe. "So what's up?"

Chloe went over to stand by Jimmy with a huge grin on her face that quickly spread to Jimmy. "Actually, we have some news."

"Oh?" Lois enquired, systematically speaking between mouthfuls. It was like she hadn't eaten in a week, but Clark's – or the Pancake House's – pancakes were so more-ish.

Chloe and Jimmy looked at each other as Chloe blurted out. "We're having a baby!"

Lois' fork froze in mid-air as she took a moment to process what her cousin had just said. In fact the whole room went silent for a moment, before Clark said, "That's fantastic." He hugged Chloe and shook Jimmy's hand. "Congratulations!"

They looked to Lois. "Yeah, congratulations guys!" She forced a smile and enthusiasm. "Chlo, that's amazing." She hugged Chloe tightly. "That's... not what I was expecting when I woke up this morning."

"And that's not all." Chloe's grin became infectious and soon Clark had been taken over too.

Jimmy looked to Chloe and then to Lois and Clark. "We talked about it, and we want you two to be the godparents."

"What?" Lois said out of reflex. "Godparents? Us?"

"Who better than my best friend and cousin?" Chloe asked rhetorically, but Lois came up with a long list a little better than her and Clark.

"Well, I'm honoured." Clark smiled. "I would love to be your baby's godfather."

Lois took a second before she realised her cue. "Right. Me too." She swallowed, nodding enthusiastically at the couple.

"Well, I think this calls for a glass of champagne." Clark suggested, moving to the cellar, Jimmy hobbling close behind, leaving Chloe and Lois together.

"Chloe, that's so great. Congratulations again." Lois hugged her.

"Enough of that!" Chloe smiled, lowering her voice. "How was the date? I assume it went well as you're here this morning."

"Nothing happening Chlo, not like that. We... flew." Lois smiled. "He took me flying."

Chloe almost snorted. "Clark can't fly."

Lois nodded emphatically. "As of last night, he can. We fly from Metropolis to here. We watched a movie and then I fell asleep."

Chloe took a moment to process this as Jimmy and Clark came back in, annoyingly meaning they couldn't discuss it any further with Jimmy in the room. Although she was astounded it finally happened, Chloe found herself a little jealous that Lois found out before her.

As Clark brought out the bottle of champagne, Jimmy said, "No champagne for mommy I'm afraid."

Chloe cocked her head in amusement, "None for daddy either. You're still on meds."

Jimmy looked seriously disappointed, but adhered to Chloe's advisement. "So, it's just me and Clark?" Lois pointed out.

Clark frowned, agreeing that there was no point breaking it open if it was just him and her, and then his face lit up. "I have a better idea. Why don't we throw you a baby shower?"

"Now? It's a little early Clark, usually those things happen in the third trimester." Chloe pointed out.

"Ok, then how about a party? A sort of post-engagement, pre-baby shower shower?" Clark suggested.

Chloe and Jimmy looked at each other, telepathically agreeing that it would be nice to have something so normal after their wedding was so not. "If you're sure Clark, we'd love it if you two could throw us a party!"

Lois looked up, she'd just been dropped into this. As much as she loved Jimmy and Chloe, she was not in the place to throw a pre-baby shower party for them; and what annoyed her the most was that she couldn't identify why it was that the subject of their baby was affecting her this way. "Um, well I have a lot of work, and – "

"Come on Lois, it'll be fun." Clark tried to persuade her.

Chloe, Jimmy and Clark all looked at her hopefully, and how was she to say no? "Oh, all right. It'll be great." She smiled.

"Great, thanks." Jimmy said, eating the last of his pancake. "So Clark, what are you up to today? Was hoping for some guy company, not that my lovely wife isn't stimulating enough." He smiled sweetly at Chloe.

"No, I understand." Chloe rolled her eyes, smiling. "You need guy time."

Just as Clark was about to reply, his super-hearing picked up on a police transmission reporting a hostage situation at a bank in Metropolis. "Err, actually, I've just realised that I've got to..." He looked to Lois in desperation, taking her only moments to realise what was happening.

"Get me some rocky road ice-cream, right away." Lois smiled goofily, as Clark shot her a slightly bemused look. She looked at him and he was still standing there. "Well go! You know how I get without my ice cream fix."

"Right." Clark nodded. "I'll be back soon Jimmy."

He rushed out of the house and ran off before anyone could say anything else, but he knew that Jimmy would be looking confused, Chloe amused and Lois feeling foolish.


End file.
